Black Secrets; a Bloody Roar saga
by Mighty Afro
Summary: Chapter five already? My word, where does the time go? Anyway, more dramatic, daring and downright mad antics with the BB crew. Enjoy
1. New Friends, New Enemies

Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shira, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.  
  
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!   
  
Chapter 1: New Friends, New Enemies  
  
Busuzima looked at the prone man before him with fascination. He was in a white walled room, which was barren with the exception of the steel operation table to which the muscular young man was strapped to, lit only by a pair of strip lights hanging from the roof. It stank of disinfectant and a faint touch of blood, and indeed there were many faint cuts across the mans chest. Busuzima grinned and rubbed his smooth skinned chin; it had certainly been some fight to try and get the struggling man back into his prison. As usual, he had been at the back, laughing all the while as the struggling zoanthropes had been tossed about by his little test subject. However, much to his disappointment, they had managed to subdue the man after morphing into their beast forms and clubbing him to the ground. However, if his test-subject had changed into his beast form, it would have been a very different story. Very different indeed.  
Suddenly, the door opened, and a group of tall figures strode into the room; one was tall and imposing, another split off from the others and watched the all from a distance, and the last two were heavily built and looked like they were some kind of hired muscle. The leading figure smiled faintly at Busuzima, who looked away uncomfortably from the mans gaze.  
'Er, hello Mr. Kouto,' He mummered. The figure nodded slightly, a faint smile on his thin lips. He continued to stare at the back of Busuzima's head, as if studying his thoughts with extreme interest, before turning his gaze onto the prone figure on the table. His long thin fingers idly played with the strong metal straps that held the mans arms and legs down.  
'Fascinating. Where are his wounds? My associates here were less than friendly when our subject here attempted to escape, and yet now he looks perfectly healthy.'  
Busuzima looked up hopefully and cleared his throat. This is the reason he had been brought here after all.  
'Er, it's truly an amazing specimen Mr. Kouto. You see, while he have yet to see him fully morph into his beast form, he seems to carry some of the properties of the suspected beast within him in his more human form. Note the rough skin, the easily healed skin, and, er, his teeth.'  
Very gently, he leant down and lifted up the mans lip. There, clear for all to see, was the mans teeth; small, sharp and with two sets, one set before the other. Mr. Kouto looked at them with his usual long, calm gaze and then looked back up at Busuzima.  
'Very good work. And you say that there is something else we should know about him?'  
'Yeah. Er, I mean yes Mr. Kouto,' He corrected himself swiftly, as those strange eyes bore into his skull, 'Well, we've managed to make the test subject morph to his beast form under controlled lab conditions, but we believe he has a third form which he can morph into during his second stage.'  
He had expected at least a moment of awed silence. This was one of the biggest things in zoanthrope history. But Mr. Kouto (damn, how did you get eyes like that!?) simply said, 'And what is that then?'  
Busuzima, taken aback at the mans coolness, stumbled over his next words.  
'Well, erm, you see…..AAHH!'  
'Oh dear, you seem to have bitten your tongue,' Commented Mr. Kouto, watching the scientist hop around the room gripping his mouth, 'Well, we can discuss our business later. Horn, Tusk, accompany me back to my limo. Barry Serpent, stay in the facility and help Mr. Busuzima in any way you can. Don't worry,' He added, turning back to the cursing zonathrope, 'Barry Serpent is an excellent helper, and has studied genetic engineering with some interest I might add. I'm sure he will not be a burden.'  
Busuzima nodded, still holding a hand to his mouth. He knew he hadn't bitten his tongue, but Mr. Kouto had some really weird powers at his command; if only he could get that man on an operation table, then he'd see how he did all them mind tricks on people, he'd make sure of that. Thankfully, if Mr. Kouto had read his thoughts, he chose not to comment, leaving the room with the two large, bulky men. That left himself, the test subject and the scrawny man called Barry Serpent, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall in the far corner of the small room. He looked up from his pondering when he felt Buzusima's gaze on him.  
'Isss there problemssss?' He said, more of a whisper than anything else. The scientist couldn't help noticing the accent was foreign (Mexican if he was correct, with a light lisp on the "s"). He quickly shook his head.  
'No, nope, nada problems here my friend,' He said hurriedly. The silence intensified, 'Er, I'm just going for a soda, you wanna come with?'  
Barry Serpent just gave him a look that was nearly as bad as Mr. Kouto's. Buszima edged his way towards the door, eyes still locked with Barry's, and swiftly left the room. Leaning against the wall, he wiped his brow with the back of his hand; what had he gotten himself into!? This guy made Shen-Long look like a member of Green Peace for God's sake! Suddenly, he heard the hissing voice from behind the door.  
'And get me a cherry ssssoda while you're there,' Called Barry.  
  
Yugo opened the door to his apartment, threw his bag onto the floor, and collapsed onto the couch. He gripped his head in his hands and tried to stop the feeling that his brains were trickling out of his ears. He hated having to go back to school, but he needed to finish it to get qualifications, which he needed to get a job. Pah, job; why couldn't he just be a professional boxer like before!? He remembered the argument he and Alice had had when he had brought this up; his girlfriend had said that he needed a job that would help pay the rent and still leave his brain cells intact (God knew he needed as many as he could get). He had argued that maybe she needed to get a job that paid a bit better than nursing. And then she had snarled and kicked him out the window. Fortunately, the car below had broken his fall…..less fortunately, it was his own, but at least he had gotten out of an argument with Alice with only minor injuries. He sighed; maybe she was right, but at that time he would never had admitted it to her face. He had his pride at stake, and he didn't have much of it left after being kicked out of a window. He heard the door open and close again, and heard footsteps getting closer, and stop (probably having seen the bag on the floor).  
'Yugo?' Called Alice, putting her groceries to one side and picking up the bag, 'How many times have I had to tell you to put your bag in your room, not just hurl it on the floor?'  
'About seven times,' Called Yugo, still hidden from view by the back-rest of the couch. There were more footsteps, and Alice's face appeared over the top of the rest. She half smiled, half scowled at him, and tossed the bag onto his chest, knocking some of the wind out of him.  
'Well, it's about time you started paying attention. Where's Kenji? He should have been back by now.'  
'Give the kid a break Alice,' Panted Yugo, trying to suck air back into his lungs and placing the heavy bag back onto the floor, 'He's only just started at his new school. He'll probably be out with Uriko and his new friends. I wish I was,' He added mournfully, but Alice smacked him across the back of his head.  
'Not until you do your homework! God, you're a bigger kid than he is!' She yelled. Yugo leapt up, growling indignantly.  
'Am not!' He retorted.  
'Are too!'  
'Am not!'  
'Are too!'  
They paused for a moment, nose-to-nose, but then there was a ring at the doorbell. They held their gaze for a moment, and then Yugo lost. Grumbling, he looked away and slouched towards the door. When he opened it, he straightened up hurriedly. Standing on the doorstep was Master Long, standing stiff backed and with a grave look on his face. This came as no surprise; Long always looked stiff backed and grave, and put Yugo in mind of a more old fashioned teacher. He was wearing more "normal" clothes than his usual silk waist-coat thing and baggy trousers, and Yugo almost burst out laughing when he saw the serious China man wearing a pair of jeans and a white Tommy Hill-Figure T-shirt. For a moment Yugo thought he had found a doorway to an alternate universe where Long was a hip-hop fashion guy, but then the man snapped, 'Yugo, are you just going to leave me standing on the doorstep?' And he knew he was in the real world. Standing to one side, he let Long stride (He always strode, like he was incapable of simply walking) into the flat. Long nodded to Alice, who went through a similar experience to Yugo, albeit much faster than the dull-witted boxer.  
'Er, hello Long. You look….nice?' She hazarded a guess, but it seemed to be the right one; Long beamed happily at her.  
'Do you like it? Uriko has been teaching me about the modern world; when you've been a hermit living in a cave for the last few years, you tend to be a bit behind on things. Do you think it looks alright?'  
'It suits your…..it suits….yeah, it looks nice,' Finished Alice lamely. In truth Long looked so out of place he couldn't be located on a map of the Earth, and she didn't know whether Uriko had just played a really cruel joke on her Kenpo master or simply had no sense of fashion, but right now she would not have admitted it to the smiling face of the clueless Chinese man for the world.  
'Thank you….er, I mean cool,' He corrected himself, as though he was trying to remember his words from a script, 'I just came over to ask if you've seen Uriko? She's been missing her Kenpo training lessons recently, and I wondered if you knew what she was up to.'  
'Relax Long, she's probably out with Kenji and his friends,' Said Yugo. The wolf zoanthrope smiled slyly, 'I never knew you cared so much for her.'  
'Yugo!' Hissed Alice, 'You don't make rude jokes at the guests. Besides, I wouldn't get Long mad, or he'll kick your ass onto the pavement from the top story window.'  
'Hey, I could take him!' Said Yugo, taking a fighters stance. Long just looked at him.  
'Er, does that mean you don't know where Uriko is?' Asked Long, still looking rather puzzled at Yugo's eagerness to be beaten in a fight.  
'I told you, she's probably just with Kenji. Now are we going to fight or not!?'  
Long smiled faintly. Several seconds later, the apartment door burst open, taking its hinges with it, and Yugo was hurled onto the street, hitting his head off the curb. As he staggered drunkenly to his feet, Long handed Alice a couple of notes.  
'For the door. I'll see you later then Alice. Bye Yugo,' He called, walking away down the street. Yugo blinked heavily a couple of times, and tried to focus on him.  
'Hah! See, you're running away! I am the victor!'  
And then he promptly collapsed on the ground, eyes rolled into his skull. Alice sighed irritably, and dragged his prone body back into the house.  
'Honestly, that's what you get for having no manners,' She chided.  
  
In fact, Uriko was out with Kenji, as well as their two new friends, Vincent Marks and Kevin Lightfoot. After the fight with Shen-Long, the two young teenagers had been admitted to the new Zonathrope Academy, a school specially adapted for those with the ability to morph into animals. They had only been going for a week, and so far everything seemed to be going alright. The four friends were currently lying in the shade of an ancient oak tree, watching the sun through the green leaves and commenting on the shape of the clouds.  
'That one looks a little bit like a elephant without a trunk,' Said Kevin, pointing up at a mass of nimbus cumulus. The others all followed the finger, and laughed.  
'No it doesn't Kevin,' Giggled Uriko, 'It looks more like an ox holding a balloon than an elephant with no trunk.'  
'Oh yeah?' Grinned Kevin in a mock challenge.  
'Yeah,' Replied Uriko, still giggling.  
'Well personally I think it looks like a collection of water vapor that has evaporated from the surrounding lakes and rivers and collected in the cooler climates of higher altitudes,' Said Vincent. Everyone turned to look at him; there was, in every young gang, someone who was smart and intelligent, but stuck out like a sore thumb. Vincent returned their stares politely.  
'Yes? Have I gotten something wrong here?'  
'Vincent, we're supposed to say what they look like, not what they are,' Smiled Uriko. Vincent looked perplexed.  
'Yes, but it looks like a cloud. Therefore it is a collection of-'  
'Oh stop letting your mouth flap Vincent,' Moaned Kevin, 'You might accidentally swallow a bug.'  
Vincent smiled faintly, and remained quite. They had been friends a long time before Uriko and Kenji had come along, and knew it was all a joke, but Uriko didn't. The smack to the back of Kevin's head nearly sent him sprawling across the floor.  
'What was that for!?'  
'You were being horrible to Vincent! Apologize!' Growled Uriko gripping his arm tightly. Kevin struggled to break free, but the grip was tight.  
'Ow! Stop! OK, OK, I'll apologize! Sorry Vincent,' He muttered, when Uriko had realized her grip, 'Although I notice you didn't exactly leap to the rescue.'  
'Why should I? You were making fun of me,' Grinned Vincent, before explaining the abusive friendship he and Kevin shared. Uriko apologized to Kevin, but the light hearted boy shook it off and smiled as always. It was only then that they noticed that Kenji wasn't paying them any attention.  
'Kenji?'  
Suddenly the young boy appeared to snap out of his trance-like state, and turned to look blankly at the three concerned looking teenagers.  
'Er, sorry. Kinda tuned out for a while there.'  
Shortly afterwards, they decided to go back to their homes, Kenji and Uriko going one way, Kevin and Vincent the other. Kevin and Vincent strolled down the streets, idly commenting about life's smaller worries. The pair were an unlikely pairing; Vincent was tall, stern and uncompromisingly logical, tending towards black, sensible clothing and lightly combed hair as dark as his clothes. His cold eyes seemed to unnerve most people who didn't know him to be a kind and gentle soul. Kevin, on the other hand, was a shorter, broader kid, with sandy blonde hair and wearing a white shirt and jeans. The man appeared constantly hyperactive, simply bursting with unspent energy, and made Vincent look lethargic in comparison.  
'Wonder what Kenji was thinking about?' Pondered Kevin, absentmindedly snatching at a passing fly and catching it gently in his hands. It buzzed about his palm for a moment, and then he released it again, sending it skittering once more across the sky. Vincent didn't look around, but Kevin could tell he was also pondering that question.  
'It was a little odd how he seemed to loose his perception there,' Said Vincent after a while, 'Usually he can here the mice scurrying under the floorboards of the old school gym from the opposite side of the school, but he didn't appear to hear us at all.'  
'Maybe it's something to do with school?' Suggested Kevin.  
'But he's doing well in all his lessons,' Countered Vincent.  
'Something at home then?'  
'We've met Yugo and Alice before, and although they did have a bit of "Lovers Quarrel", they appeared to be adequate guardians for him.'  
'Well, I'm all outta ideas,' Said Kevin, 'So maybe he's just going insane.'  
'It is possible. From what he's told us about himself, the things that have happened to him might have sent him into a delayed psychic spiral.'  
'Er, I was joking Vincent.'  
'So was I. What, you believe that I think Kenji is mad?'  
Kevin shook his head in dismay.  
'You really have to work on your sense of humor Vinny.'  
  
  
In his hidden lair, Stephen "Stun" Goldberg held the match steady, and lit the small pile of fire fuel before him. Leaning back against a crumbling wall, the huge, well muscled man settled back and tried to concentrate. It was hard though; ever since Busuzima had transformed him into this…..this thing, he had needed a steady dose of a special serum to keep him alive. When he had managed to break free, he had tried to kill his cruel tormentor, but the wily scientist had slipped from his grasp at the last moment. Unknowingly, his fists tightened into a ball at the thought of the grinning idiot that had considered him a test experiment. However, he had managed one thing at least; he had found the formula for the serum in one of the labs before it blew up, and with the help of his……He paused, trying to think of a suitable word that would describe Yugo and Long…….friends, he had produced enough of the serum to keep him going on his own for a while. Ever since then, nearly a year ago, he had been hiding out in the ruined down-town section of the city, lying low and keeping to himself. However, yesterday he had used the last of his serum, and already the symptoms he had experienced before where coming back; headaches, mood swings, difficulty talking and the urge to kill everyone in his way. He needed to see the others as soon as possible and brew up a new batch, before the hunger overwhelmed him and he did something unforgivable.  
Suddenly, he saw shadows flicker across the other side of the room, and looked up sharply. The fire crackled again, but it cast no light on any intruders. But that did not mean there was no one there.  
He only just managed to avoid the kick to the back of his head, rolling to one side and onto his feet. In the warm glow of the flames, he could just make out the indistinct outline of a giant chameleon, standing tall on its back legs and wearing a dreadful blue Hawaiian shirt; Busuzima!  
'Hey, Goldberg old buddy! Did you miss me? I notice you failed to send any post cards, but I know you were thinking about me.'  
Stephen snarled, and hurled a punch at the laughing idiot, but the nimble Busuzima leapt out the way and revealed himself, fully visible in the light of the fire.  
'Now that isn't any way to treat an old fiend. I thought you'd be pleased to see me,' He grinned.  
'Get…..out of here……now,' Growled Stun, each word a painful knife in his throat. Busuzima laughed all the harder.  
'Leave!? Now?! But I've only just got here, and there's so much I wanted to do with you….cut you open, study your insides, that kinda thing.'  
With a bellow of rage, Stun leapt forward, his fists swinging through the air with extreme power. But the chameleon was too nimble, ducking and dodging every slow swing and retaliating with a blow of his own, kicking the powerful man in the stomach and slamming his knee into the mans head as he doubled up in pain. A punch sent him skidding across the floor and into the wall, his back hitting the stone with a loud crash. Busuzima gave another laugh, and disappeared again. Stun staggered to his feet, looking around for his enemy, and only just heard the sound of the creaking steel rafter above before Busuzima leapt down from in, crushing Stun against the floor with all his weight. The wooden floorboard creaked warningly, but did not break. Rolling off his stunned opponent, the sick-minded scientist lashed out his tongue, wrapping Goldberg in a sickly pink rope of muscle, and slammed him against the wall, the floor, the ceiling, and finally out the window, where he hit the pavement hard with his shoulders. Stun gave a pained cry, but remained on the ground, curled up in a ball. Chuckling evilly to himself, Busuzima leapt down from the shattered window and landed neatly on his feet, sitting on his haunches as he taunted his prone adversary.  
'I expected a better fight from my once prized experiment. Oh well, you may not be much, but that bozo Mr. Kouto wants test subjects, so he'll get test subjects.'  
The scientist was about to tie him up with his tongue again, when he noticed that Stun was trying to say something. No, not say something….he was laughing. Too late did Busuzima realize he was too close to Stun than was advisable, and before he could turn and run a blinding white flash of energy hurled him through the air and smashing onto a car rooftop. Getting back to his feet groggily, Busuzima only caught a glimpse of the armour plated behemoth that launched itself at him. He felt himself lifted bodily into the air, felt the sudden grip of gravity pull him back down, and most definitely felt the waiting punch that threw him nearly twenty feet along the street. His body began to shrink, and he was once more frail old Busuzima, unconscious and awaiting Stun's wraith. The massive beetle zonathrope lifted a short but heavy leg above the unknowing Busuzima's head.  
'Goodbye……bastard,' He hissed, but suddenly he found himself lifted from his feet and hurled against the ancient stone wall of a building, his heavy frame smashing the brickwork to dust. Staggering up to his feet and dusting down his armour plates, Stun looked up to see another tall and skinny figure, a reptilian zonathrope like Busuzima but taller and skinnier. It looked like some kind of cobra, a hooded flap of skin screening the back of its long and narrow face, its long tongue flickering out its mouth full of serrated fangs. It looked weakly muscled despite its height, as fragile as a twig when compared to the lumbering stag beetle zoanthrope trying to pull itself up out of the ruins of the wall. Growling with rage, Stun let the plates on his back slide aside let his transparent wings unfold, flapping faster and faster until they were little more than a blur. His heavy bulk lifted slowly off the floor, but suddenly and with surprising grace the huge monster shot forward, heading directly for the thin snake creature. Without blinking once, the snake's red eyes flared, and suddenly Stun veered off his path, smashing himself hard against a parked van and then crashing down straight into the pavement, knocking himself unconscious. As his beast form shrunk back into his human body, Busuzima came to and pulled himself to his feet, wincing as the stars flew before his eyes. He blinked hard, and saw Barry Serpent walking towards Stun's prone form, a pair of electra-cuffs in his clawed hand. Limping over to his side, he rubbed the back of his head and looked down on the blue skinned man with more than a slightly impressed look.  
'Well, you sure showed him. How the hell did you take him down so quickly?'  
'Telekanessssssessss,' Hissed Barry Serpent, morphing back into his human shape; short black hair, a thin and gaunt face, weather beaten olive skin and wearing plain black clothes. He was as skinny as he was as his snake creature, 'Massssster Kouto taught me a few of hissss tricksssss.'  
Busuzima nodded faintly, still looking at Stun's body; he was really worried he had gotten himself in way over his head in this deal…..  
  
Uriko arrived back at the apartment she and Master Long shared, trying to open the door as silently as possible. She was nearly two hours late for her Kenpo lesson, and she knew that Long would be angry, but she had been enjoying herself with her friends, and, well, Kenji seemed to have been clueless all day, and probably would have been run over if she hadn't taken him home. Slowly she crept from the front room to the kitchen, taking the second door to the backyard, and finally crawling into her room through the window in the back garden. Uriko grinned, thinking she had gotten away with it, when suddenly there was a sharp but polite cough behind her. She spun round, and there was Master Long, standing stiffly in his old silk waist-coat and baggy trousers. He was staring down grimly at her.  
'Where have you been?' He asked. Uriko's mouth flapped open, but there was little she could say.  
'I….I was out with some friends,' She said, hoping he would see this for the truth. Long locked gazes with her, and finally nodded.  
'You've been missing your Kenpo lessons. I believe you should make alternative arrangements the next time you want to go out with your friends.'  
Uriko felt the sinking feeling in her gut turn to red hot rage. Who did he think he was, ordering her about? She glared straight back at his stony calm gaze.  
'You can't tell me what to do!' She yelled, 'I don't need to learn Kenpo anymore! Shen-Long is gone now!'  
Long raised an eyebrow in surprise, but remained as cool as ever.  
'That may be true, but you still need to practice your abilities regularly; I fear Shen-Long will not be the last evil man who may try and take control of all the zonathropes and lead them on a killing spree. We need people to stop them, and we need them to be ready.'  
'There isn't anyone else Long! There are no evil men left! Your…..your just a dried up old relic, wanting one last chance to show his glory! I hate you!'  
Uriko had never seen Master Long loose his cool before, but there, just for a spilt second, she swore she saw him loose control. But his anger was swiftly subsided by a wash of sadness. Is this how she saw him? He thought to himself. Without a word he turned and walked out the room. Uriko sat down on the bed, too ashamed of her actions to say anything or do anything.  
Later that night, she heard footsteps going into the kitchens, and the sound of someone drinking something from the bottle. The next morning, Uriko saw an empty bottle of whisky on the table top….  
  
In the morning, Alice and Yugo woke Kenji, ate their breakfast with him, and watched him walk serenely to school. Yugo looked concerned as he watched the young zonathrope make his way around the corner.  
'There's something up. I haven't seen him like this since he was trying to fight Busuzima's brainwashing. He just goes blank when you talk to him.'  
'Yeah,' Said Alice, biting her lip nervously, 'I'm worried too, but there isn't anything we can do just now. We'll ask Alan Gado about it next time we see him; he seems to have an answer for everything.'  
'Yeah, he's just a regular brain box,' Muttered Yugo resentfully, but Alice just laughed.  
'Well he's more intelligent than you are!'  
'Hey! I beat him in a fight remember!'  
'And I'm sure that taxed you to the very ends of your wit that did,' She said sarcastically, walking past him back into the house. Yugo stood in the doorway, confused.  
'But I beat him!!' He protested to the uncaring world in general.  
  
Busuzima watched as Stun's body was strapped down tightly next to that of the other test subject, the two hulking figures pulling the chains tightly so they cut into the flesh slightly. Barry Serpent was again in his favored corner, watching everyone's moves intently, and Mr. Kouto was standing just behind Busuzima, smiling faintly.  
'A rare specimen indeed. One of your own past tests you say?'  
'Er, yes sir. He's one tough cookie, and as you can see his armour plating will provide excellent protection,' He replied, handing the thin man some photos of Stun in his beetle morph. Mr. Kouto studied them for a moment, and then looked up, his mad eyes again boring straight through Busuzima's head and pinning him to the spot.  
'And what of the third subject? The one you call Bakuryu?'  
'Ah, the squirt. Well, he's still out there, but I fixed something together that'll bring him back. When he first left me, the brainwashing failed, but I had a plan just in case I needed him defenseless and weak. A small chip in his right arm is wired to the nerves leading to his brain, and when activated it'll make him loose any sense of being with himself. After a few days of the chip being activated, he'll be a brainless couch potato,' The evil scientist grinned, but it froze when Mr. Kouto's gaze locked once more with his own. He felt….something, like a presence, in the back of his mind, and winced as un-called for memories surfaced, brought forward for inspection by the tall figure before him. After a moment though, the presence left, and his limbs thawed out. Mr. Kouto smiled.  
'It seems your plan will work Busuzima. Make sure it does. I will know the instant something goes wrong, and if it does…..then it will be you on the operating table.'  
He lifted his jet black cane and tapped the metal table twice for enthuses. Busuzima gulped, and nodded hurriedly. Once again, he and Barry Serpent were left in the room, an odd atmosphere in the air. Busuzima wiped his brow of sweat, and looked over to where Barry Serpent was chewing on something hidden in his hand.  
'God, how do you put up with that guy?'  
The snake zoanthrope looked at him, and shrugged.  
'The pay'ssssss good,' He hissed, taking another bite out of whatever it as he was eating.  
'Well, you're braver than I am…..Hey, how come the mice cage door is open!? Where are the lab mice!?'  
Barry Serpent looked up quickly, and shoved the last of his snack into his mouth, but not before Busuzima spotted the pink tail disappear into his mouth like a strand of spaghetti  
'Oh my God, you ate them didn't you!?'  
'Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Whatsssss it to you?'  
'About a years research that's all! Damn your sick.'  
'Hah! Fine wordsssss coming from you! I heard about your little habitsssss,' Grinned Barry Serpent, watching as Busuzima started to go red with anger.  
'Those accusations against my sexuality were false Goddamnit! I am a perfectly straight heterosexual male!'  
'Yeah, and the Pope'sssss a Sssssatanisssst,' Chuckled Barry in his heavy Mexican accent, wondering out the room to the soda machine.  
  
Kenji stared out the classroom window, watching the birds fly past and the grass rustle in the breeze. This wasn't really surprising, as Mr. Hettik's Math class was VERY boring, but he was having trouble coordinating his thoughts. He blinked hard once, and shook his head hard. He could hear voices, but they were muffled and sounded like they were coming from a distance.  
'What?'  
'I said, Kenji, that if the answer to the equation X + 6 = 43, what does X stand for?'  
Many of his lessons that day ended up like this, with him struggling to keep control of his thoughts. What was happening to him? And the pain in his arm was really not helping any. He rubbed his right arm without thinking as he leant against the trunk of the tree, staring at the ground between his feet. He didn't notice Uriko, Vincent and Kevin walk up to him and start talking. It was only when Kevin lightly but politely cuffed him across the back of his head that he looked up in surprise.  
'Hey man, pay attention!' Said Kevin, 'Uriko is having a lot of trouble at home with that Long guy, and all you can do is study your footwear! Is there anything wrong with you man?'  
'I'm….I'm….' Kenji was trying to talk, but his breath was becoming laborious, and his brain was going fuzzy. Suddenly, from the shade of the trees above, there was a rustling noise, and something landed heavily on the ground between the group and Kenji, throwing Kevin backwards and onto the floor. There was a chuckling noise, and suddenly the air seemed to pull itself together, revealing the chameleon morphed Busuzima. Smiling madly, the estranged scientist kicked out, knocking the wind for Uriko's lungs and sending her skidding across the grass, coughing and spluttering. Vincent was standing as calm as ever, an eyebrow raised in question.  
'Who, may I ask, are you?' He said coldly, taking up a more threatening stance. Busuzima laughed at the stern young man before him.  
'Oh-ho! A tough little kid aren't we? We'll see if we can't do something about that!'  
'If I might suggest you remove that sign from your back first?' Said Vincent, smiling very slightly. Busuzima looked confused for a moment, and pulled his blue Hawaiian shirt around, upon which was pinned the sign "Am I a Gaylord? Si Senor". The chameleon snarled angrily.  
'Barry!? You're a dick Barry!'  
'Better than being a Gaylord, no?' Chuckled the Mexican, emerging as if by magic from the shadows of the tree. The man was morphed into his Cobra from, and nodded towards Vincent.  
'A little tip ssssenor. Don't turn you back on Ssssenor Busssssuzima here, if you know what I mean, ssssi?'  
'Shut up, or I swear I'll rip your tongue out and choke you with it!!' He yelled. Barry shrugged.  
'OK, whatever you want. Jussssst remember we're here for the boy, not to ssssscrew around with little kidssss. You do that in your own time.'  
'I'm warning you! Just one more wise crack, and I'll have your intestines on an operating dish faster than you can say "Sssssasssssaguessssss"!'  
Snarling, Busuzima turned back to see Vincent. The young man had taken up a fighting stance legs spread wide and one in front of the other, his arms held in a 60 degree angle and palms facing forward.  
'When you two are quite finished, shall we begin?'  
'Hah! You think you can beat the pair of us!? Dream on kid.'  
'Maybe I can even the odds,' Panted Uriko, but Kevin bounded over her head and stopped her going any further.  
'Leave these goons to us Uriko, your still hurt!'  
'I'm fine!' She said, but Barry Serpent waved a hand and sent her back onto the ground, skidding along on her back. Kevin turned around, looking furious.  
'You'll get a beating for that, snakey!' He growled. The Cobra zonathrope laughed.  
'Oh yesss little ssssenor? And how do you plan to beat usssss?'  
'Like this!' He grinned, turning to Vincent, 'Ready Vinny?'  
'As always, friend,' Smiled Vincent. Suddenly, the pair were lost in a blinding flash of energy, and from it emerged something very different from the two young men.  
The first, where Kevin Lightfoot had been standing, was a tall and well muscled Mongoose, with a long snout with small but very sharp teeth producing from just under the lip. He was covered in short sandy coloured hair and seemed to be constantly twitching with energy. All that remained of his clothing was a loose fitting sleeveless shirt and a pair of ripped denim shorts. The next, where Vincent had stood, was a jet black Panther, staring just as calmly as his human form, if not calmer. The Panther was standing in the same combat stance, wearing a pair of baggy canvas trousers and a pair of steel bracelets on his wrists.  
'Er, crap,' Muttered Busuzima, 'This looks ever so slightly bad.'  
'You think your guy isssss bad?!? I have a **&^$@#^ Mongoosssssse!? Do you know what Mogosssssesssss do to sssssnakessssss?'  
'Well I…..Damn it, what are we panicking about?! They're still just kids, we can crush them both!'  
'Unlikely,' Growled Vincent, leaping forward with mind-numbing speed. Busuzima didn't have time to think before the first punch struck him on the skull right between his eyes, followed by a flurry of powerful yet calmly calculated punches to his ribs. The last blow was an uppercut that sent him soaring into the air and into the branches of the oak tree, crashing hard against the wooden limbs.  
'OK, time for a little rethink,' He coughed, falling out of the tree and landing hard on his back, 'Maybe…..AAAAGGGHHHH! I bit my damn tongue again!'  
'Forget about the tongue, get thisssss thing off my tail!' Yelled Barry, rushing around the tree with Kevin close behind, chuckling to himself.  
'Oh come on? Just a nimble?' He laughed, chasing the Cobra faster and faster. Barry, who was too busy trying to avoid being eaten, didn't see the crumpled body of Busuzima in his path, and tripped over the downed scientist. The pair, weakened by their fights, were forced to morph back into their human forms.  
'Uh-oh, we're in really big trouble now,' Muttered Busuzima, heaving the gibbering Barry Serpent off his chest and staggering back up. Although his vision was swimming, he could plainly see Kevin and Vincent standing there, still in beast form and ready to kick his @$$ into the sky.  
'Er, kids, don't you think we can just discuss this?' He said, smiling openly and taking a few steps backwards. The two zoanthropes stepped forward after him.  
'I believe your first mistake was to underestimate us,' Said Vincent methodically.  
'Er, what was the second one?'  
'Calling us kids,' Grinned Kevin. But before they could leap forward to attack, Barry (who seemed to have recollected his sanity) waved an arm, sending a rippling wave of psychic energy into the two unprepared creatures. Both were sent to the ground in a heap, leaving the way to the still clueless Kenji clear.  
'Quick, grab the kid!' Yelled Barry, running as fast as he could. As he passed Uriko, who was trying to crawl to her feet, he lashed out with a boot, smashing her neatly under the chin with a shiny black shoe and knocking her spark out. Busuzima raced after him, the blankly staring Kenji slung over one shoulder.  
'Hey! Wait for me, I'm right behind you!'  
'All the more reasssson for me to run fassssster!' Cried Barry over his shoulder. Vincent and Kevin staggered to their feet, watching helplessly as the odd pair ran for the hills.  
'Damn! Uriko!' Kevin cried, rushing forward towards the unconscious girl. Vincent was striding forward, trying to see where the pair of clowns were headed.  
'It looks like they're moving towards the center of South Town,' He said, 'If we hurry, we can catch them.'  
'But what about Uriko?' Said Kevin. Vincent thought for a moment.  
'Mr. Long's house is along the way. We could do with his help; God knows what those two jesters have up their sleeve.'  
  
Back in the hidden lab, Barry Serpent and Busuzima were arguing.  
'Well you hardly did great on your kid, eh sssssenor?' Said Barry spitefully. They were in the test room, where the mystery man, Stun and Kenji were strapped to separate tables.  
'Yeah, at least I didn't run away screaming like a little girl! And what happened to Mr. Cold Hearted Killer?'  
'I had a moment of sssstressss, OK? The guy turned into a Mongoosssse for Godsssss ssssake!'  
'Well you hardly handled yourself with grace and finesse did you?'  
'The kid wassss trying to eat me! You try staying calm when someone isssss trying to take a bite out your @$$$$$$$!'  
'OK, let'ssss calm down now….Damn it, you've got me lisping now!'  
'Hey, you want to sssssay sssssomething about my lisssssp, sssssay it to my face!'  
'I haven't got the time for this! Mr. Kouto is arriving any minute now and I've still got to clean the lab area. Someone keeps leaving cherry soda cans lying around the place.'  
'I wonder who doesssss that?' Said Barry innocently.  
'God damn your a slob Barry.'  
'And you're a Gaylord.'  
'Hey!'  
The bickering pair left the test room, leaving their three captives tied to their beds. But not all of them were sedated. Stun opened one eye, looking around the room to see if anyone was still there, and took a deep breath. He pulled his arm up sharply, snapping the metal chains binding him with relative ease, and swung his legs over the edge of the table, easing himself gently onto the floor. The massive blue skinned man looked at his surroundings, the two subjects with him, the door that was the only exit to the room, and then suddenly something in his brain clicked. He turned and looked back at the youngest of the two captives; short, with blue/grey hair and narrow faced, wearing a Zonathrope Academy uniform. He had seen him somewhere before, with Yugo and Alice and Long. Then he remembered; Yeah, it was that kid Uriko went out with, Kenjo or something like that. The massive man walked quietly over to his sedate form and slapped him lightly on the cheek.   
'Wake up kid,' He said, wincing as the words left his warped throat and caused him a jolt of pain. However, he slap seemed to have brought him too. Kenji opened his eyes, and looked up to see Stephen Goldberg. This is not the kind of face you want to wake up to, especially if you have a headache and can't remember the last few hours of your life. His instinctive reaction was to morph and stab the creature's eyes out, but he found his body refused to change. Goldberg tried to calm the thrashing kid, in case he aroused the suspicion of Busuzima and Barry.  
'Hey, take it easy there! They've injected us with some serum that'll prevent us from morphing for a few hours,' He said soothingly, ignoring the fiery pain in his throat. Kenji stopped struggling, but looked up with suspicion and ferocity burning in his eyes. But not fear, Stephen noticed, and that impressed him.  
'Who are you?' The kid asked, 'And why have you brought me here?'  
'I didn't bring you here, Busuzima and that slimy new guy Barry Serpent did. And my name's Stephen Goldberg, I'm kind of a friend of your foster parents.'  
'Yugo….Alice….Are you that beetle guy they were talking about one time, the one that wanted to kill Busuzima for something he did?'  
'That's me,' He said, trying to smile, but he had long ago forgotten how to, and even if he could remember he doubted his new form had the muscles to make it possible, 'I ran into the guy not that long ago, and they've just carted you in. Someone keeps coming in here, some rich Japanese businessman who wants three Zoanthropes for some cooky experiment. And there's this guy.'  
'Who's he called?' Asked Kenji, as Goldberg ripped his chains off him as silently as possible. The man turned to look at the third and final man.  
'God knows, just some poor guy who was unlucky and got under Busuzima's nose.'  
Kenji, now freed from his bonds, hopped down to the floor and studied a clipboard that hung from the end of the table.  
'Subject Drake Holland Dante? That must be his name,' He thought out loud, 'I wonder if he can hear us?'  
It was over so quickly that the mole zonathrope didn't even know if it had happened. The man had sat up faster than the eye could follow, snapping the chains binding him like they weren't even there, leapt from the table and carried on right through the brick wall, leaving a huge gaping hole next to the door. Both he and Stun stared in utter confusion as a couple of screams rang through the other room, and finally ended with the sound of a smashing window. There was silence for a few moments, before the pair were brave enough to open the door and peer through into the next room. Busuzima and Barry Serpent were gone, the lab was nearly totally wrecked, and the window was shattered, the glass covering the ground outside.  
'Well, that was handy,' Said Kenji. He nodded to Stephen, 'Come on, before something else happens.'  
The odd looking man allowed Kenji to guide him through the corridors, trying to find a way out into the open again….  
  
Vincent and Kevin arrived at Master Long's house, carrying the stunned Uriko between them. They knocked on the door, but no one was answering.  
'We have no time for this!' Snarled Kevin, and kicked the down with all his might. The wood shattered under the blow, falling back into the corridor beyond.  
'That wasn't very nice,' Commented Vincent.  
'Well, we can pay for it later.'  
'Who's we? I didn't kick the door down.'  
'Look, can we stop arguing and get Uriko to her room!?' Said Kevin in exasperation. Picking her up again, the pair were just about to enter when something came thundering towards them, yelling something. Foul smelling breath hit Kevin in the face, but then he noticed that it smelt an awful lot like whisky and scotch. He side stepped the rampaging figure, tripping him up as he passed and sending him tumbling down the steps and onto his head. In the clear light of the sun, they could see it was Master Long, his usual pristine clothes crumpled and reeking of alcohol. Vincent nudged the empty bottle that had rolled out of the mans hand.  
'My word. He's drunk,' He noted, watching Long stagger back to his feet. Kevin snarled, and gripped the swaying man by the starched collar.  
'Look after Uriko, or I'll kick your stiff @$$ back to China, got that!?!'  
'Whatzat!? Is dere anothaothaothaothaotha beer ina fridge den?' Giggled Long, before falling unconscious over Kevin's shoulder and started to snore.  
'OH FOR $%#*@)$% SAKE!' Screamed Kevin, 'WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!'  
Vincent, ignoring Kevin (who was struggling to push the sleeping Kenpo Master off of him) had pulled a sleek cellular phone from his pants pocket, and punched in a number quickly.  
'Hello, Alice is it? Ah yes. It's Vincent Marks, one of Kenji and Uriko's friends. Look, we have a problem; Kenji has been captured by Busuzima and some other dubious character, Uriko is unconscious and Master Long appears to be in a drunken stupor. Er, please calm down. Just take a deep breath. That's it. So, could you and Yugo come around and look after the others while we're gone…..well, you're a nurse, and Yugo will need to be here in case they double back. No, we'll be fine. Certainly. Alright, take care.'  
He snapped the case shut and slipped the phone back into his pocket. By now Kevin had managed to disentangle himself from the snoozing Long, and was trying to rearrange his ruffled shirt and hair into something more presentable. The pair looked at each other for a moment, and both nodded.  
'Right. The next problem is to save Kenji. You ready?' Asked Kevin. Vincent nodded slightly.  
'As ever. Lets go.'  
And so the pair, leaving their unconscious friend and the drunken Long safely in the house, headed off down the street, to meet whatever fate had for them head on.  
  
And thus ends the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it (and no, I am being serious), and another chapter will be on its way soon. And there is nothing you can do to stop it! My plan has been set in motion! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Ehem, please excuse that bout of insanity there. Keep on livin'!   



	2. Renewing Old Ties

Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shina, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.  
  
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!   
  
Chapter 2: Renewing old ties.  
  
It stank under the sewers, but Busuzima had little choice. His body ached still from the cuts and bruises he had received at the hands of his escaped experiment, Drake Dante, a very rare zoanthrope. He had no idea how or what had happened, but in a few brief moments, the thing had literally burst through the wall, slammed Barry Serpent to the ground and punched him out the window. When the pair had come too in a dumpster about a block away from the lab, they had returned to find their data wrecked, their computers smashed and the other two test subjects, Stephen "Stun" Goldberg and Kenji Oghami, had escaped. But Busuzima, despite his appearance, was no fool; he had taken extra samples of everything, and placed them in his secret hideout, which was in the sewers.  
'It sssstinks down here,' Moaned Barry Serpent, Busuzima's watcher; the thin Mexican worked for Mr. Kotou, who had hired Busuzima to create a special formula for him, and Berry was there to make sure he didn't take any liberties. The scientist sighed and turned to Barry, who's nostrils were flaring madly.  
'Oh shut up! Look, it smells down here, but what if those kids we fought decide to bring that pup Yugo or whatever? They won't be able to track us down here, so we're totally safe.'  
'Not from Mr. Kotou we're not,' Said Barry with absolute certainty, 'When he sssseesss the lab, he'll have our headsssss for basssssket-ballssssss.'  
'Hell, we don't need the test subjects anymore,' Said Busuzima, although some of the dread in Barry's voice did unnerve him, 'Granted it would have been better to kill them, but we have what we needed, so all we have to do is bang it in a syringe and hey-presto, the jobs done.'  
'You're sssssure?' Said Barry warily.  
'Would I lie to you?'  
'Of courssssse you would, you're a Gaylord.'  
'Hey, I've had just about as much as I'm gonna take from you! Just keep your trap shut until we get to the hideout.'  
  
Kevin Lightfoot and Vincent Marks, friends of both Uriko's and Kenji's, arrived at the labs a few minutes after the incident with Drake Dante. They skidded to a halt, watching the building from a distance. Someone had obviously decided to torch it, and flames licked hungrily at the rooftops.  
'Damn! Are you sure they came this way?' Asked Kevin. Vincent shrugged.  
'Well, they headed in this direction, but they really could be anywhere; since we had to stop at Long's house to drop off Uriko, they could have turned back or anything. But I would place long odds that this was caused by Busuzima and that Barry Serpent character.'  
'Well, what now? Do you think that Kenji is still in there?' Kevin said apprehensively.  
'Unlikely; why would they capture Kenji just to place him in a building and burn it? I think that something happened, and Kenji escaped.'  
'Really? Then where is he?'  
'Well, lacking as I am my portable Kenji-Sensitive Radar, I have no idea,' Said Vincent wearily; Kevin was a nice guy, but he could ask a few too many questions at times.  
'What are you children doing here?' Came a voice from behind them. The two kids turned to see a tall, thin and gangly man standing in the middle of the street, flanked by two huge muscled men. The tall man was old, with wrinkled skin and grey hair laid thinly on his head, and carried a thin jet black walking stick, but it looked more like for show than support. The two people behind him where the kind you would expect to see in a out-of-the-way bar in a bad part of America; arms like a sack of melons, tattooed on any bare space of flesh, bald headed and with little piggy eyes set into their thick heads. They were wearing black leather jackets and ripped jeans, much like bikers but obviously lacking the bikes themselves. The tall man was still staring strangely at them.  
'Well?' He said again, 'what are you doing here? Did you set that fire?'  
'And why do you inquire so?' Said Vincent. There was a gleam in his eye that made Kevin feel very awkward, but then again it might have been the fire reflected in his pupils. The tall man squinted at Vincent again, and his wrinkled features twisted themselves into a grin.  
'My my, if it isn't little Vincent,' The man said coldly, 'My how you have grown. Perhaps I can help you with that little problem.'  
He turned to the two people behind him.  
'Tusk, Horn, tear his legs off,' He said simply. The two huge walls of muscle stomped forward, cracking their knuckles and grinning stupidly. Kevin edged backwards, but Vincent didn't appear to be moving.  
'Vinny, what's the matter?' He hissed, 'We can't fight them guys!'  
'I disagree,' Said Vincent, 'They may be larger, but we would have the advantage of speed on our side. So are you going to help me?'  
Kevin hesitated; Vincent said it was possible, and when had he been wrong? He nodded.  
'Ready Vinny,' He said, smiling faintly. Vincent returned the smile.  
'As always friend.'  
The pair crouched, readied themselves for a fight like never before, and leapt…..  
  
Long groaned and sat up in his bed. He blinked heavily a few times, and took in his surrounding; he was in his room, which was bare except for his simple bed and a small wardrobe for his clothing. A thought struck him; he was wearing no clothes! He glanced down at himself, and indeed he was naked bar his boxer shorts, which was a blessing at any rate. He tried to swing his legs to the floor, but his muscles felt numb and unreactive. He gave another loud moan of pain, and obviously it had been loud enough for someone to hear, as the door opened and Yugo stuck his head around it, peeping in. The wolf zoanthrope took one look at Long's bare chest and quickly withdrew his head.  
'Oh my God! Alice, why didn't you say he was naked!?'  
'Yugo, he's not naked, and stop shouting or you'll wake him up!' Came Alice's voice from the living room.  
'He's already awake, and I think I've gone blind if anyone's interested,' Said Yugo, but judging by the silence that followed, no one did. There was the sound of someone walking towards the door, a short sharp "thunk" noise, and a little yelp of pain as Yugo scurried away to the safety of the kitchen.  
'And don't eat anything! Those are Long's groceries!' Alice yelled at his retreating back, before opening the door and smiling at Long. The Chinese man tried to return the smile, but couldn't help but notice the fact that he was nearly totally naked and she was still coming into the room. He coughed hesitantly and bunched the sheets over some of the more exposed area of his body.  
'Oh please, I thought you of all people would know that as a nurse I see a lot of people naked,' Said Alice, placing a tray of soup and a glass of water on the floor next to Long's bed. Long coughed, embarrassed.  
'Er, what happened to me? I can't remember much….'  
'You were drunk,' Said Alice, 'By the way, I never knew you had it in you to drink four bottles of whisky in one sitting. I'm surprised you didn't die of alcohol poisoning.'  
'Drunk? Impossible! I…I…,' He hesitated, as a few memories bubbled to the surface of his brain. That night with Uriko, the argument, the sadness; it all came flooding back, and it visibly made his slouch his shoulder.  
'What's wrong?' Asked Alice, sitting down on the bed next to the downcast Kenpo master.  
'I remember I had a fight with Uriko before I started my drinking binge. I just felt so….empty, and I remembered that most Westerners drown their sorrows in alcohol, so I thought I'd give it a go.'  
'Well, not ALL Westerners turn to alcohol as a way to drown our sorrows,' Said Alice indignantly, feeling a moral calling to defend her country from a stereotypical view of all Westerners.  
'Really?' What else do they do?'  
'Well, some do…er, and others go and…..I think most people…..we eat chocolate instead,' She ended lamely. However, her weak attempt at a counter-argument was enough to satisfy Long. The strongly built China man stroked his chin.  
'Hmm, chocolate you say? Well, I will bear that in mind.'  
'Er, there's some other stuff you should know,' Said Alice, edging away from him slightly; in this mood, she had no idea how he would take the news, 'You see, Kenji has been captured by Busuzima and some guy called Barry Serpent, and they knocked out Uriko and…..'  
Alice didn't get to finish her sentence. Long had leapt to his feet, the sheets thrown to one side and his soup scattered across the floor. He stood, red faced and shaking with rage, clad in naught but his Kelvin Klyne boxer-shorts, and looked down at the cowering Alice.  
'Where is Uriko!?' He said. Alice pointed a quivering finger to the door. The stern Chinese zoanthrope, totally oblivious of his current state, marched to the door, and pushed it open so hard that it smashed against the wall and slammed back into his face. Calming slightly as he extracted his face from the dented wooden door, he strode across the hallway and into the kitchen, where Yugo was standing in front of the fridge, an open carton of milk at his lips. His eyes goggled as the half-naked Long stormed into the kitchen, and spraying milk across the walls as his brain seized up. (Oh my God, he's coming onto me!) He thought, but had no time to react before Long had shoved him out the way as he continued on through the kitchen and into the hallway, marched straight along it, and came to Uriko's room. There he stopped, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath, and a look of utter indecision on his face. Alice, who had ran after him when he had stormed out his room. Yugo was behind her, rubbing his head where it had hit the wall when Long had shoved past him.  
'What's he doing? Has he gone insane?' Asked Yugo, but merely received a slap across the back of his head from Alice.  
'Quiet Yugo, this is a personal matter! And I TOLD you not to eat Long's groceries! Go out to the shops and get some more NOW!!'  
Grumbling to himself, Yugo moped down the hall and into the living room. Alice turned back to see Long, who had finally some to a decision. Gripping the door handle, he carefully opened it and let himself in. In her bed, Uriko was dozing, wearing her silk pajamas and tossing her head as she slept. By the look on her face, she was having a bad dream. Long walked quietly to her bedside, and knelt down, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. Uriko must have been sleeping lightly, as even this light touch was enough to wake her up. She yawned, blinked the sleeping-sand from her eyes, and looked up into Longs smiling face.  
'Master Long?! What happened, where am I!? Kenji!!'  
She tried to leap out the bed, but got entangled in the sheets and landed back on the mattress, snarling and trying to untangle herself from the mess of linen. Long laid a hand on her shoulder again, and she eased her struggling. She looked up again, and there were tears in her eyes.  
'What's happening Master Long? Where has Kenji gone, and Kevin and Vincent too? All I remember was the bastard Busuzima coming at us, and then that slimly little snake kicked me on the chin and then I was back here.'  
'It's alright Uriko,' Said Long soothingly, 'Kevin and Vincent are fine, last I heard about it, and Kenji will be safe with them on the case, I can guarantee that. I always did like that Vincent kid, very stern, like me,' Said Long absentmindedly. He turned his attention back to Uriko, who was still crying quietly, and hugged her tight, patting her back comfortingly.  
From the doorway, Alice smiled, watching the Master and the Pupil let their sorrows flow through them. This was a touching moment, which was somewhat spoiled by Yugo leaning over her shoulder and grinning childishly.  
'Alright, get a room already,' He chuckled, but stopped when Alice snarled and back handed him across the face, sending him to the floor with a thud.  
'What did I tell you about making fun of people!? Now get out this house and get some more groceries NOW!!!!!'  
Yelping with fear, Yugo scrabbled to his feet and hurried out the back door, leaving it swinging on its hinges in his haste to flee the fuming Alice. Calming herself, she turned back to see Long and Uriko standing up, Long pulling on a silk dressing gown that Uriko had handed him from the closet. Long nodded to Alice.  
'If you would be so kind as to get my phone book, it's by the cookie jar shaped like Snoopy the dog, and call the first three people on the first page. I think if Busuzima is up to something, it would be best to get some help.'  
Alice nodded, and hurried into the kitchen. Uriko looked up at Long, who looked stern an upright again, bar the fact he was still semi-naked.  
'We'll get him back, wont we? God knows what Busuzima could be doing to him, you KNOW what he's like with kids.'  
'Yes, and that's why we must get him back as soon as possible,' Said Long. His face was grim and set like stone, 'Besides, I'm a withered old relic looking for one last chance of glory, remember?'  
'Er, yeah, sorry about that,' Said Uriko, but suddenly looked him straight in the eye in surprise.  
'Hey, did you just make a joke?!'  
'I don't know,' Said Long, equally puzzled, 'There might still be some alcohol in my system. I think I need a lie down….'  
  
Kevin and Vincent circled carefully around the two hulking beings, Horn and Tusk respectively, who stood their ground and readied themselves for battle. Kevin looked over to Vincent, and nodded.  
'Alright, I think we'll need to morph to take these two down.'  
'I agree totally,' Said Vincent calmly, and in an instant a cloud of white energy whipped about him, leaving in his place the tall black Panther, standing coolly to one side, fists held low and ready to strike. Then Kevin morphed, his Mongoose form as energetic as ever, twitching madly in eagerness for battle. Before either could leap to the attack however, the tall man laughed.  
'You really think you can beat my bodyguards with your little beast forms? Horn, Tusk, morph.'  
The two thugs nodded at his command, and a much darker clouds began to swirl around them, hiding their forms from sight. When it cleared, there was two titanic creatures standing in their place; one was slightly taller, with light grey skin and huge broad shoulders, much larger than his human form by at least three times. Two long tusks curled from under its upper lip, and a strong, flexible trunk waved in the air threateningly. It flapped its large ears a few times and stomped forward on big flat feet, ignoring the fact that its clothes were nearly bursting off its frame; Tusk, Elephant zoanthrope, glared down at Kevin, and chuckled idiotically.  
'You wanna fight me kid?' He boomed, and swept its trunk across Kevin's chest, hurling him against the wall behind him. Kevin slid down the stone wall to the ground, gripping his ribs painfully.  
'I'll get you for that,' He hissed with what little breath he had in his lungs, but all that did was make Tusk laugh all the louder. The other zoanthrope, Horn, was laughing with him; he was shorter but broader and had more meat on him, if that was possible. His skin was darker, and a huge, powerful looking horn protruded from the end of his snout. Horn the Rhino zoanthrope was about to step forward, but felt a sharp pain in his side, and swept and arm back, catching Vincent under the chin and hurling him into the air. Turning around ponderously, Horn stretched out a thick arm and caught Vincent around the tail as he plummeted back to the ground, stopping only just before he had hit the ground face first.  
'Nice try kid, but no cigar,' He grinned, hurling him by the tail across the street to where Kevin was staggering up, crashing into his friend and sending them both to the ground. The two giant creature stood over them, smiling evilly.  
'Come on, don't tell me you're done already?' Mocked Tusk, 'I was only just getting started.'  
'Yeah,' Chuckled Horn, kicking Vincent in the ribs, 'Get up, we haven't had a good fight in ages.'  
Watching from the safety of the far end of the street, Yotaba Kouto grinned as he saw Vincent roll across the pavement, groaning in pain. He had to admit, his usual calm exterior had shown cracks when he had saw the boy again, but he was sure in his bodyguards abilities to deal with two simple kids.  
Kevin just managed to roll out the way before Tusk's foot came crashing down where his head had been, smashing the concrete underneath the force of the blow. Vincent had managed to stagger up again, and was ducking the clumsy swings of Horn without much difficulty. Hopping backwards to avoid a more savage punch, he leapt forward again, grabbed the horn in both hands and pushed up, jumping straight over the stunned Rhinos head and landing neatly on his feet behind him. Lashing out with his foot, he kicked the zoanthropes legs from under him, rolling out the way as Horn fell heavily to the floor, banging his head on the curb. Meanwhile, Kevin had dodged a punch that would have crushed his bones to powder, and bit down hard on Tusk's arm, his needle like teeth puncturing the tough flesh. Yelling angrily, Tusk staggered back, giving Vincent and Kevin enough time to recuperate.  
'This is not going to plan,' Panted Vincent, leaning against the wall, 'We need to use something big to get these two down.'  
'Are you think we should use our secret attacks?' Said Kevin, 'But we can barely control them. Our bodies aren't used to the flow of power.'  
'The alternative is to sit here and have ourselves beaten to a pulp,' Snarled Vincent angrily, 'And I know you'd prefer to go down fighting.'  
Kevin hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.  
'Alright, but if we end up wreaking half the street, you're paying for it.'  
'Thank you. Now, you take Tusk, and I'll go for Horn. Ready?'  
'Yep,' Grinned Kevin, crouching low in preparation for his attack. Vincent took up a fighting stance, legs apart and arms held up above is head like they were wings.  
'I suggest you surrender now, or be destroyed,' Vincent called out to the two fuming zoanthropes, his voice deathly calm. Tusk laughed horribly, and took a step forward.  
'Oh yeah, and what are you going to do if we don't?'  
'This,' Yelled Kevin, and leapt forward. His powerful legs propelled him high into the air, and as he soared towards Tusk, he began to glow with a silver flame. By the time he reached his opponent, he looked more like some sparkling meteor than a zoanthrope, smashing himself hard into Tusks chest. The titanic beast staggered backwards, giving Kevin enough time to land on his feet and give the Elephant zoanthrope an uppercut that sent him flying into the air. Bunching his legs muscles up, Kevin leapt up after him, leveled with the still groaning Tusk, gripped him by the head, and began to spin. By the time he had reached the zenith of his jump, nearly twenty feet in the air, he was lost from view by the whirling body of Tusk, who looked like he was in the middle of a hurricane. Suddenly, Kevin acknowledged gravity, and plummeted to the ground, still spinning Tusk as he fell towards the ground, and hit the street with the force of a small bomb going off. When the smoke had cleared, Kevin was standing over a huge crater in the middle of the street, in the middle of which laid Tusk, once again in his human form and bleeding badly from his head.  
'And that, my friend, was the Silver Whirling Dervish,' he panted, grinning happily at Vincent, 'I knew I'd get the hang of it one day.'  
'Well done Kevin. And now for Horn,' Said Vincent, turning to the stunned creature who was looking at his friend in the crater. Before he could turn, Vincent was running up to him, his claws out and his teeth bared. He got faster and faster, until suddenly, when he was a few feet away from the staring Rhino, he disappeared, leaving only a burning Buddhist sign for "Shadow" where he had been standing. Horn had no time to wonder however, for instantly his body was covered in flaming scratches, thousands and thousands of them, hiding his body from view in a whirl of burning slashes. Suddenly, Vincent reappeared, standing in a classic crouched pose, his arms held out behind him. The flaming marks died out, showing Horn in his human form, covered in what seemed like millions of very fine scratches.  
'I believe that was the Shadow Panther Claw,' He said matter-of-factly, standing up and dusting his fur down, 'A pity, I was trying for a totally different move.'  
'Hey, relax Vinny, we beat them didn't we?' Said Kevin, clapping a hand on his shoulder, 'Now, for that creepy looking guy.'  
The pair turned around, but Mr. Kouto was nowhere to be seen.  
'Goddamnit! He must have escaped while we were kicking his cronies @$$'s,' Raged Kevin, kicking a discarded can across the street.  
'There's no time to worry about him,' Said Vincent, venom dripping from every word, 'We have to check out the building to se if Kenji is still in there.'  
'No need,' Came a familiar voice, and Kevin and Vincent spun round to see Kenji and…  
'Dear God, Kenji, behind you!!' Yelled Vincent, rushing forward, claws stretched out ready to slice. He pounced over the shocked Kenji and lashed out at the ugly looking creature standing behind him. The blow knocked the thing a few paces back, with enough time for the Panther zoanthrope landed neatly on his feet before it could retaliate. He went for another punch, but the thing counter him, punching him in the gut, but Kevin leapt on its back before he could storm forward and floor the winded Panther.  
'Stop it you guys!' Yelled Kenji, grabbing Kevin by his shirt and pulling him off of Stun's back, 'He's with me. And what the hell are you guys doing here anyway!?'  
'We were looking for you actually,' Said Kevin indignantly, pulling himself up off the floor and morphing back into his human form, 'Busuzima and some serpent guy crashed in on our lunch break and ran off with you in tow.'  
'What happened to Uriko?' Said Kenji, looking suddenly worried, but Vincent laid a hand on his shoulder.  
'Relax, we got her to Master Long's house, but sadly he was….incapacitated, so we asked Alice and Yugo to look after them both.'  
'Well, at least they're OK,' Said Kenji, folding his arms across his chest, 'But where is Busuzima and that new guy? And who were you fighting before?'  
Kevin looked around, and cursed graphically; Horn and Tusk were gone, obviously sneaking away when Kenji and Stun had arrived.  
'Well, I'm annoyed too, but I don't think you should have said that,' Said Vincent, before turning back to Kenji, 'We'd better head back to Long's house; something fishy is going on, and I for one would like to know what it is…..'  
  
Yugo looked for any traffic coming, and quickly crossed the road, grumbling to himself. Under his arms were two brown paper bags full of groceries, replacements for those that he had eaten at Long's house. Stupid stiff-backed martial artists guy, he thought bitterly, and snarled angrily as he stubbed his foot painfully on the sidewalk. This was NOT turning out to be his day.  
Suddenly, the sewer cover in the middle of the street flew up, crashing nosily back onto the ground. Yugo jumped, yelping in surprise and ducking into the cover of some nearby bushes, weeping like a little girl. After a few moments, the wolf zoanthrope got a grip on himself, and turned to peek out of the foliage. Out of the hole leading to the sewers, someone had pulled themselves out and where looking around, hands on their hips.  
'Oh bloody hell, I took another wrong turn!' The man cursed, and Yugo felt a surge of anger run through him; Busuzima. Before he could leap out of hiding and beat the perverted scientist into a bloody pulp, another man managed to heave himself out of the stinking pit and crawl onto his knees.  
'Oh, that'sssss great. Well done, you total Gaylord! What issss it with you, have you got ssssome ssssort of problem with actually choosssssing the RIGHT TUNNEL!?!?!' Yelled Barry Serpent, glaring up at the mad man. Busuzima glared right back.  
'Hey, it's been a while since I was down here, okay? Cut me some slack!'  
Yugo had had enough; with a bellow of rage, he leapt from hiding and landed before the stunned looking Busuzima, smashing the stringy man across the face with a powerful right hook. Busuzima went down like a felled tree, cracking his head off the street as he fell. Yugo spun round, and kicked out at Barry, catching the Mexican in the gut with a solid boot. Serpent reeled back, gasping for breath as the air was forced from his lungs. Yugo took this chance to change into his wolf form, and in a burst of white energy he was transformed, still clad in his leather trousers and biker jacket, his teeth bared and fists ready to strike. With a growl, he stooped down and grabbed Busuzima by his shirt collar.   
'Alright, what the hell are you two clown up to?' He said, pulling the terrified zoanthropes face close to his own, glaring into his eyes. Busuzima's mouth flapped open a few times, but suddenly Yugo was thrown off of him, sent hurling through the air by some unseen force. Barry was leaning against the side of a car, gripping his stomach with one hand, the other one outstretched, pointing at Yugo who was still flying through the air, finally landing heavily on his back. With a little whimper of pain, Yugo fell unconscious, his arms falling limply at his sides. Panting, Busuzima scrambled to his feet and rushed over to Yugo's prone form, dragging him to the sewer entrance.  
'Quick, back into the sewers!' He called, before throwing the zoanthropes body down into the stinking darkness below and jumping down after it. Barry, hissing something about Busuzima's sexuality, crawled across the street and pitched himself down the hole. A second later, the sewer cover floated into the air, and landed back in place, leaving no evidence of a fight except the scattered groceries.   
  
'Hey, Vincent,' Said Kevin, as they headed back to Long's house, 'That guy, you know, the tall one who Tusk and Horn seemed to be protecting. He seemed to know you.'  
Vincent was silent for a moment, his usually stern features even more stony.  
'Yes, he knew me. And I knew him. It's been a long time though, I didn't know he was still around.'  
'Who was he?' Prompted Kevin, looking at his friend. Vincent sighed.  
'He was my uncle. Or at least used to be; I think the family had him stricken from the family tree when he started to act….strange. He was always the black sheep, the one no one mentioned at the reunions. I've only ever met him twice, and last time we did he tried to kill me.'  
'Wow, and I thought I had a hard time with my mother when she asks me to clean my room,' Said Kevin, shocked at this news.  
'Believe me, Uncle Kouto is a LOT worse that your mother…..I think,' Said Vincent, remembering the time he had seen Kevin's mother get angry with her husband, 'Last I heard, he had been arrested for possessing illegal experimental military weapons. But now he's here, there's no telling what he's up to.'  
'Hey, no sweat,' Said Kevin, grinning broadly, 'Whatever he's up to, we'll get him. We've already trashed his goons.'  
'They were just the first. Uncle Kouto has a lot of power hidden under his sleeve, and now he knows we're onto him, he'll use it all to get rid of us.'  
'You're really serious aren't you?' Said Kevin, finally noting the worried look in Vincent's eyes.  
'I always am Kevin. Now, we'd better head back to Long's house; we need to gather our strength if something's about to happen…..'  
  
And there it is, the second chapter done and dusted. With any luck, I'll get the third one done shortly, but with ever increasing exams, tests and course-work piling up, I find it difficult to get anything done. However, I hope you all enjoyed reading this next chapter, and get ready for the next one, in which Jenny, Shina/Marvel, Alan Gado and a few of my new characters will make an appearance. Big grins until then, and keep on writing!  



	3. Who am I?

Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shira, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.  
  
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!   
  
Chapter 3: Who am I?  
  
Crouched on the edge of an old abandoned building, like some gargoyle of flesh and blood, subject Drake Holland Dante sat, staring at his own hands. His yellow, slitted eyes studied the palms first, examining every inch of slightly leathery skin, slowly turning them over until they were fully rotated to show his long curving talons. His mind felt heavy and sluggish, but he could sense something was wrong.  
'I'm a human,' He said, his voice crocking and cracked after so long from speaking. The sound of his own voice seemed to startle him, 'But I can't be. Humans don't have talons.'  
Bunging his leg muscles, Dante leapt into the air, sailing high above the streets and landing on the flat roof of a burnt out apartment store. He stood up, looking around for something. He stopped and picked something up; a shard of glass, part of a window that must have been smashed at some point. He stared at the image that looked back.  
It was tall, very broad shouldered and bare chested, its only clothing a pair of baggy black trousers with a rope for a belt. His head had a neatly shaven layer of ash blonde hair, which Drake ran a tentative hand through, savoring the feeling of it. His memories flashed back; he had once rubbed his hand through someone else's hair, a woman's, someone he had loved. He couldn't put a face to the person, all he could get was a feeling of intense longing and loss. His eyes returned to his reflection again, and took in the tough looking skin, the bulging muscles and, of course, the reptilian eyes. Cautiously, he opened his mouth, and saw that he had two sets of razor sharp teeth. He tested one with his finger lightly, and studied the digit as a drop of blood welled up and ran down his finger, pooling in a crease of his skin.  
'So I'm not human,' He said to himself, stooping down to put the glass back, 'But if I'm not a human……then what am I?'  
  
Long had fully recovered from his hangover and had washed, cleaned and dressed himself in his usual attire before the others had arrived. Alice had phoned up the people Long had instructed her to, and the group was now waiting in the living room; there was Alan Gado, the veteran one-eyed lion zoanthrope, and his daughter, Jane Gado the leopard zoanthrope. Sat in the big leather armchair that Long usually sat in for an evening was Jenny, the sultry bat zoanthrope, and Alice had been surprised to find her name in Long's phone book. And that, basically, was it, not including herself, Long, Uriko, Yugo, Kenji, Kevin and Vincent of course. Now that she thought about it, Alice was getting more than a little annoyed with Yugo; he should have been back with the groceries ages ago. However, her thoughts returned to the problem at hand, as Long walked into the room and nodded to the gathered group.  
'Thank you all for coming,' He said, walking over to a spare chair and taking a seat, 'I'm sure you're all wondering why I asked you all to come.'  
'Not really,' Said Jane Gado casually, but dropped the cocky attitude when her father glared down at her with his good eye.  
'I for one want to find out,' Growled Alan, looking back at Long, 'It's been a while since you've felt the need to call any of us about something, let along all of us.'  
'I assure you, it's for good cause,' Said Long grimly. He settled back into the chair a little, his fingers tapping on the arm randomly, 'You see, Kenji has been kidnapped by Busuzima, who we all assumed was dead after the explosion that killed my clone, Shen-Long.'  
'So what?' Said Jenny, shifting herself into a more revealing position. Alice couldn't help but say "Slut", but managed to intercept the message on the way to her vocal cords and turned it into a quiet cough. Jenny seemed to know what she was thinking however, and gave her a nasty little grin. Alice clenched her fists and started to count to ten slowly in her mind.  
'So we must find where he is keeping Kenji, and stop him. It is certain that he has been doing something in the year since the explosion, and no doubt none of us will like it. I also think he's connected with an outside source, someone to provide funding money and equipment.'  
'Then this could get serious,' Said Alan, straightening up, 'If Busuzima has had a year to prepare, then he could have done ANYTHING; for all we know he could have an army of modified zoanthropes hidden in the city right now.'  
'An army you say?' Said Jane with a vicious grin, 'Now that would provide a good bit of training.'  
Long nodded; it looked like those two were in. He turned to Jenny.  
'What about you?'  
'Hell, why not?' She said, grinning devilishly, 'It'll be an experience.'  
'Count me in too!' Said Uriko, looking incredibly angry, 'That sick twisted freak isn't gonna touch a hair on my Kenji's head as long as I'm around!'  
'Ah, teenage romances,' Chuckled Jenny, ignoring the nasty glare Uriko shot at her. Long stood up.  
'Then we head out as soon as possible. We'll comb through the city and keep a look out for anything suspicious.'  
The others nodded, and stood up to leave. However, Jane Gado had other things on her mind. She had never really admitted it, but she had always admired Long, as an opponent and as a……well, a very attractive man. She had hoped that he would call after the events of last year, but he had never rung, leaving her heartbroken and slightly embarrassed when she thought that a wrong-number had been her stern looking love idol. And now, he was in her grasp, and all she had to do was gather up her guts and ask him out.  
But what if he says no? A nervous part of her brain said.  
Just ask him out, The other half replied.  
But he'll never say yes.  
Ask him out.  
But I look really trashy in my combat gear.  
Ask him out!  
But I-  
FOR GOD'S SAKE, JUST ASK HIM OUT!!!!  
Caught mentally off guard, Jane blinked, and nearly swooned when she saw that Long was looking at her.  
'Erm, are you alright?' He asked, looking concerned. Say you're fine, her brain said desperately, Say you're alright and get the hell out of here!  
'Er, I'm fine, thanks,' She said sheepishly, as little warning sirens blared in her head, 'I just need to…to….go over here,' She said, dashing off before Long could reply. She sighed, and tried to shut out the voices taunting her in her mind.  
Long's shoulders fell. It had been a long time since he had seen Jane, and his heart still felt the same pang of longing as it had done the first time he had seen her. It had taken every bit of his courage (and a little alcohol left in his system) to call her for help, and just as he had tried to ask her out, she had rushed off. Maybe she just didn't find him attractive? Maybe Uriko was onto something with the whole "Hip" image. Perhaps it was time for a new, stylish Long? His heart leaping at the thought of Jane accepting him, Long rushed off to his room to change out his silk waistcoat and canvas trousers.  
  
Busuzima kicked down the flimsy barricade that someone had set up in the sewers, hefted Yugo's unconscious body over his shoulder again and plodded through the rushing stream of filth, cursing his foul luck. Behind him, Barry was complaining about the stench again, and it took every ounce of his self control not to turn around and bean the stupid Mexican with a large chunk of stone.   
'Are we nearly there yet?' Moaned Barry Serpent. Busuzima sighed.  
'No.'  
'Are we nearly there yet?'  
'No.'  
'Are we nearly there yet?'  
'No.'  
'Are we nearly there yet?'  
'No.'  
'Are we nearly-'  
'NO!!!!!' Yelled Busuzima, finally snapping, 'No, we are not nearly there yet! In fact, we have another three miles of sewer to navigate before we even come remotely near to the hidden lab! And after that, we have another six miles of this stinking, rotting hell to endure before we reach the security outline. After that, we have double that time to wait for our codes to be put through the system and verified, and then, and only then, will we be there!!!!!'  
There was a long pause, filed only with the sloshing sound of the slime floating past and Busuzima's panting. Barry rubbed his chin.  
'Or,' He said, matter-of-factly, 'It could be right behind you, you ssssstupid Gaylord!!!'  
Busuzima turned, and there was a large sign with the words "Secret Lab, only two blocks this way" scrawled upon it.  
'I don't remember putting that sign up,' Said Busuzima, looking worried.  
'God damn! What the hell am I doing down thisssss crap hole with you!?!?' Exclaimed Barry, barging passed the laden Busuzima and marching off down the tunnel indicated. The mad scientist hurried after him, lumbered under the weight of Yugo.  
From the shadows, the figure who had been following the bumbling pair for the past few hours smiled.  
'I can't believe they fell for it,' It chuckled, before heading off down a shortcut to head them off.  
  
Back in his private home (or the one in this city at least), Yotaba Kouto was furious. Horn and Tusk had just arrived, bleeding and tattered from their fight, and Kouto was NOT in a good mood.  
'Children,' He spat, looking in disgust at his two henchmen. The two zoanthropes avoided his mad gaze; his eyes, usually disturbing, were even more mad, little blood vessels visible on the almost totally white orbs, two little pin pricks his pupils, 'You, my two VERY expensive bodyguards, were beaten by CHILDREN.'  
He didn't shout, but said it in a whisper that was somehow worse than shouting. Tusk and Horn bowed their heads, still keeping silent. Kouto gave one last snarl of anger before turning away and storming down the hallway. It was richly decorated with priceless art and suits of armour, and a thick red carpet covered the ground. At the end of the hallway, a massive pair of double doors swung silently opened as he approached, and beyond that portal was….  
It was huge. The house had been built upon a small hill overlooking the city, and within the hill there had been a gigantic cavern which Kouto had converted into a technological marvel. Metal walkways, huge cranes, vast vats and coolage storage facilities filled the chamber from edge to edge, and bustled with the life of dozens of science teams building what he liked to think was his little army. One of the scientists, a thin gangly man with red hair and neat little glasses, came up to him and bowed.  
'Mr. Kouto, what can we do for you?'  
'How many units have we produced here?' Said Kouto, looking out over his little scientific empire.  
'We have nearly two hundred units produced, and nearly two thousand more in your other estates all over Japan.'  
'Release the one in this lab.'  
'What!?' The scientist said, amazed, 'But sir, they aren't fully tested yet!'  
'Strange. The other day you were telling me the cloning procedure was going magnificently.'  
'But we still don't know if the neural transmitter will activate correctly in all of them. If it doesn't, then we have a city full of clones we can't control!'  
'Then make sure it works, or I will kill you,' Said Kouto, his face as serious as ever, 'And now I must leave. Busuzima must be found so my transformation will be complete.'  
'Yes sir,' Said the scientist reluctantly, watching the tall dark man walk out again. He nodded to two other lab workers.  
'You heard Mr. Kouto! Have the exit bays opened and start extracting the clones from deep freeze!'  
The pair nodded, and hurried off to do their tasks. The red haired man wiped his glasses on his sleeve, and sighed.  
'May God forgive me,' He mummered.  
  
Vincent stopped, and looked up sharply, his eyes gazing towards the large mansion at the far side of the city. Kevin stopped next to him, as did Kenji and Stun.  
'Hey, what's up Vinny?' Said Kevin, trying to follow his gaze. Vincent started to mutter to himself, under his breath.  
'What was that?'  
'He's there. I should have known it. The old family house; he must have had a key or something.'  
'What!? You mean that mansion belongs to your family!?!'  
'Yes.'  
'But you live in a little flat down Nash Street! You can't afford that!'  
'My family don't like to flaunt their wealth. But Uncle Kouto is different, and has access to the mansion. We need to get the others and head there as soon as possible.'  
'You really sound worried,' Said Kenji, looking into his friends eyes, 'Is there something up there that you should tell us about?'  
Vincent finally took his eyes off the mansion, and turned to the others.  
'Well, for one thing there's a secret army of cloned zoanthropes hidden under that hill.'  
'WHAT!?!?' Yelled the others in unison (except Stun, who's voice was giving him trouble again). Vincent merely nodded.  
'My family gained their wealth by inventing improved gene-splicing technology that allowed the quick manufacturing of simple clones. They weren't really human, just human shaped with simple commands running through their brains. No one as yet has created a fully human clone, as the brain is simply too complex to recreate, but these clones would follow voice commands, such as "Guard" and "Eat". We were going to sell them off as useful assistants for elderly or disabled people, but something happened; someone rewrote their command functions, and turned them into killing machines.'  
'Let me guess; the families black sheep Uncle Kouto, right?' Said Kevin, still looking slightly shocked.  
'Exactly. He was planning on using them to take out the standing defense force and stealing everything of value before disappearing with the equipment and manufacturing a huge hoard of mindless slaves, but my father managed to stop him before he could activate them. Kouto disappeared afterwards, and we thought he was just hiding in fear of our revenge, but it looks like he was just plotting to get back his little army.'  
'And he's up there, in the mansion that contains this army?' Said Kevin weakly, 'Oh boy. THAT isn't good.'  
'I fail to see how it could be good,' Said Vincent, as calmly as ever, 'But first we need the help of the others; without proper assistance we would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.'  
'Okay, I have a plan,' Said Kenji, grinning slightly, 'Me and Stun will head off to get the others; Stun can fly when morphed, and the others know me a bit better. You two scout the area and see what your loony uncle is up to, then report back. You guys up to it?'  
'What kind of question is that?' Said Kevin scathingly, 'Just get your butt ugly friends to the others el pronto, okay?'  
'Alright then, see you at the mansion,' Said Kenji, and nodded to Stun. The hulking man was wrapped with bright energy for a moment, and when it cleared he was a beetle again. Hopping onto the massive behemoths back, Kenji nodded once to the others before Stun's back plate slid back to reveal his wings, and a few seconds later they were hovering away over the buildings. The pair left behind waited for a few moments to see they got off safely, and then rushed off again, this times heading for the ominous bulk off the Kouto mansion.  
  
Deep below the streets, wading through the days filth, Busuzima flung Yugo to the floor, leant against the wall, and spake thusly:  
'I bloody hate sewers!'  
Barry, who was leaning against the other wall so he could see Busuzima at all times, glared across at him.  
'Well, who'ssss bright idea wassss it to build there ssssecret lab right in the center of the sssewerssss then?' He said sarcastically, 'Why, could it have been the massster of gaynessss himsssself, Professor Gaylord Busssssuzima? Why yesssss, I believe it isssss! Jusssst sssshut up and check you're going in the right direction,' He snarled. Busuzima returned the evil stare.  
'Well, I haven't seen anymore conveniently placed signs about, so I guess we're back to square one on that part. And why do I have to carry this brainless moron anyway?' He complained, kicking Yugo's body. It gave a brief moan, but didn't wake up.  
'Well, you brought him, you carry him,' Said Barry simply. Suddenly, the snake zoanthrope jerked upright, went cross-eyed and keeled over to one side, splashing into the stream of dirt that washed around them both. Busuzima sighed, waded over, and gave him a sharp kick. He didn't moan or stir. It was only too late that he noticed the little dart sticking out the side of his neck, but suddenly there was a very cold sensation against his throat, and he felt a presence shift itself behind him to get in a better position to hold the knife.  
'Don't move, or you'll acquire some unwanted ventilation in the form of a sliced windpipe,' Said the voice, and the scientist was surprised to hear it was female. He tried not the swallow, and gave a little nod (a VERY small nod, as there was a knife held to his throat after all).  
'Er, is there anything I can do for you miss?' He said, trying to keep calm.  
'Yeah. You can take me to this secret lab you keep droning on about.'  
'Oh, right, okay,' Said Busuzima, beginning to sweat, 'Er, but as you can see, since we've been wondering around down here for hours-'  
'Shut up. I know where the lab is, but I need your pass codes to open the security door.'  
'Oh. Alright then, I guess that's reasonable,' Said Busuzima, trying to sound jolly this time, but the pressure on his throat increased slightly, and he shut up.  
'Right, now get moving, and no more attempts to be nice.'  
'Perish the thought,' Muttered Busuzima, as he was shoved forward down the passageway. The scientist wondered for a moment where Barry had gone, but remained silent as the knife wielder shoved him onwards.  
  
Yugo moaned, and sat up, wiping filthy water from his face and looking around with a dazed look on his face. His head felt like it had been cut open and stuffed with cotton wool, and there was crusted blood over a cut on his brow. (How the hell did I get down here?) He thought to himself, (The last thing I can remember was Alice hitting me over the head and yelling at me about something. What was it? Huh, knowing her it could be anything. School stuff? But it's the weekend. Scratching myself in public? But we were at Long's house. Wait, that was it; Long's stupid groceries! And when I was heading back that pervert Busuzima and……)  
His thoughts trailed off as an area of his brain started to sound warning sirens in his mind. Instantly his hands went to the seat of his jeans. He sighed with relief when he felt his trousers were still on; well at least the Homo hadn't tried anything when he was unconscious. He stood up and wiped some more of the slimy goo off his clothes, and only then did he realize someone was watching him.  
'I ssssee you're up then,' Commented Barry Serpent, who was leaning with his back against the mildew covered walls. Yugo growled and started to wade through the stream of crap to reach the Mexican, but something under his foot slipped and he fell headfirst into the sewer stream. He quickly surfaced, gagging as he clambered out of the disgusting river and nearly throwing his guts up as he did so. Barry was in hysterics, his hissing laugh echoing around the cavern. Yugo snarled and picked up a half crumbled brick, hurling it at the snake zoanthropes head. There was a thunk, and the hissing stopped.  
'That wasssss uncalled for,' Came an indignant and very hurt reply.   
'Like I could give a damn! Now where have you love-partner taken me!?'  
There was a long, icy pause, broken only by the sloshing torrent of waste that separated the pair.  
'Firssstly, I'm not the gay one, Busssssuzima isssss. Ssssecondly, if you can't tell where we've taken you, then you are really as dumb as people ssssay.'  
'Well I knew that…..Hey, what do people say about me?!?'  
'Oh God, in all the ssssewerssss of the world, I have to get sssstuck down thissss one,' Sighed Barry, brushing the fringe of his black hair out of his face. The silence returned, filling up the little sewer passage.  
'Look, how come you aren't with Busuzima?'  
'We were mugged down here. Sssssomeone drugged a dart and ssshot me with it. Not very pleasssssant, let me tell you. When I woke up, there was just you and me.'  
'The why didn't you go after him?'  
There was another bout of hissing laughter. Yugo snarled; he was getting REALLY pissed off now.  
'Stop laughing you *&£$"!^£()*^ and answer the question!!'  
'Look at my legsssss,' Said Barry. Yugo did. They were dangling in the sewer water, swaying as the current caught them.  
'Yes? They're still there if that's what you're worried about.'  
Barry sighed again.  
'Look where the dart hit. My legssss sssstill have the percentage of the poissssson in them. The mussscles won't resssspond. So, bassssically, I'm sssstuck here with you. Worssst luck,' He added under his breath.  
'Boy, my heart's bleeding for you,' Said Yugo with mock sympathy, 'But I guess you'll be stuck down here for a while, because I CAN walk.'  
'Don't try sssssarcassssm boy, it doessssn't work well with you. And yes, you can walk, so why don't you just toddle off somewhere else and leave me in peace.'  
Yugo stopped, confused (no surprise there). Did Barry Serpent really want to be left down here?  
'What are to ssstaring at?' Said Barry angrily, 'Go on, pisssssss off!'  
'Why do you want to be left down here?'  
Barry looked at him for a moment, and once more broke down into hissing laughter.  
'Oh boy, you REALLY need to get back into school huh? Is it really that difficult for you to grasp? I'm a dead man walking…..well, snake man thing, but I'm sure you get the gist.'  
'What? What are you talking about?'  
Barry sighed, and wiped his brow. Yugo only now realized he was sweating.  
'Mr. Kouto doesssssn't like failuresssss. As a matter-of-fact, he doesssssn't like anyone, but he ESPECAILLY doesssssn't like failuressssss. And he'sssss powerful, as in super-ultra-omnipotent powerful. If he want'sssss you dead, he has contactsssss in every major city and all the minor onesssss too. It doesssssn't matter if you're on the other side of the planet, he'll find you and kill you. Hell, he doesssssn't even do it like all the other bad guysssss; I've worked with some shady guysssss before, and the deal goesssss that if you capture a guy you reveal your plan to blow up the city or whatever and they esssscape and stop you. HE just putsssss a gun to your head and blowsssss your brainsssss out. So you sssssee, I'm sssssafer down here than with you, becausssse he'sssss actually looking for you. If I walk around with you, I'm nothing more than a moving target for ssssssome bounty hunter.'  
Yugo looked at the chuckling Mexican, thought for a while, and made up his mind. With a swift movement, he scooped the man up off the ground and slung him over his shoulder.  
'Hey, what givessss?' Yelled Barry, 'Put me down you assssss munch!'  
'Shut up. If what you've said is true, then he won't stop at me; Long, Alice, Kenji, Uriko, Yugo….'  
'Yugo is YOU, you dumb asssss!' Screamed Barry, thrashing around as he tried to wriggle free, 'Jussssst where are you going anyway?'  
'I can still smell Busuzima faintly; even in this form I can almost taste the perverts stench. We can follow him and find this lab of yours, and from there we can find this Mr. Kouto of yours.'  
'WHAT!?!?!?! YOU'RE %&*^()^%$ CRAZY!!!!!!'  
'There's no call for that kind of language. And what's the big deal, he's only human, right?'  
'Boy, you're gonna get yoursssself killed, and me with you!!!! You don't go looking for Mr. Kouto unlessssss you want to have a height of minussss six feet under the ground!'  
'Tough. I'm not going to let him get away with what he's doing anymore.'  
'My God, why do I have to get sssstuck with the dumb onessssss!?!?!' Barry yelled to the world in general.  
  
'Master Long,' Called Uriko, knocking on her Kenpo master's door, 'Hurry up, we need to leave quickly!'  
'Is that you Uriko? Just come in here for a moment would you?'  
Uriko frowned; come into his room? She shrugged, and opened the door, closing it behind her. When she turned around, Long was wearing….  
'Oh my God!!! Master, what is THAT!?!'  
'What? Oh, it's a tie,' Said Long, holding it up for inspection. It was, for lack of a better word, snot green and luminous, with yellow zigzag shapes down the center. The occasional randomly placed red square stuck out from the hideous thing like a sore thumb.  
'Master, you weren't thinking of wearing that….thing, where you?' Said Uriko. Long looked very concerned.  
'What, you don't like it? What about this then?' He said, holding up a tie that was just as awful in pastel orange and purple. Uriko cringed back as Long held it forwards for her to hold.  
'Master Long, where did you GET these ties from?' Said Uriko, he eyes only just readjusting after the color overload.  
'Well, I have an old box of clothes I had when I was in the seventies and…..'  
'The SEVENTIES!?!?! Master, you can't wear anything from the seventies in the new millennium!!!'  
'Why not?' Said Long, confused.  
'Why not!?! Master, the seventies was like Vietnam for clothes! Colors clashed against colors in a horrendous miss match of fashion. I've known fashion consultants that had to go into therapy when looking at something from the seventies.'  
'Erm, I take it that wasn't good then?' Said Long, who felt like he was in a big ocean with nothing but a rubber duck for buoyancy. Uriko nodded.  
'I advise you to burn the contents of that box as soon as possible. I thought I told you NOT to dress yourself in a fashionable way unless you asked me first. Besides, we're only going to rescue Kenji from Busuzima, so why bother dressing up for it?'  
'Because, Uriko,' He said, his shoulders drooping sadly, 'I have a terrible secret to bear. Can I trust you to remain silent if I tell you?'  
'Of course Master,' Said Uriko, her eyes shining; Long was always very secretive about his feelings.  
'Well, I, er, I have a, erm…..I have a crush on Jane Gado! There, I said it! God that feels good!'  
'What, that's IT?' Said Uriko, nonplused, 'Master, we already know about that?'  
'Huh!?! You do!?! Who's "we"!?! For how long!?!?!' Said Long, shocked; had he said something when he had been drunk?  
'Well, it's pretty obvious; the way you look at each other, the way you avoid talking all the time, the way she blushes when you glare at someone. You might as well have a big neon finger pointing at you saying "I'm in love with Jane Gado".'  
'So you think she likes me too?' Said Long, his heart leaping.  
'Oh yeah, as sure as hell is hot.'  
Long stood up, his face set in a serious frown. He was silent for a moment, lost in thought.  
'Uriko? Would you be so kind as to help me choose an outfit? I have a feeling that I may be needing a good looking outfit tonight. And while you're at it, I'll just phone that little Italian restraunt I know and see if they have any seats.'  
'Wow, you've really thought about it haven't you?' Said Uriko.  
'Well, sort of; I was trying to remember what the guy did in that movie, Casablanca. Now if I can only get my hands on some German soldiers….'  
'Er, I think just restraunt will be fine; you don't need to make it JUST like the film after all.'  
'Really? Well that's a blessing then; God knows where I would have found some German solider at this time of the day.'  
'Have you still got alcohol in your system?' Said Uriko suspiciously.  
'No! Well anyway, get looking through my wardrobe.'  
'Okay Master Long. I hope you know what your doing though.'  
  
'Stop here,' The voice behind Busuzima commanded. The scientist dropped gratefully onto the sewers ledge, panting for breath. They had been walking for nearly an hour, and finally Busuzima was beginning to recognize certain parts of the underground labyrinth. If he was correct, the lab was just around the corner. As he rested, he felt the figure pull something over his eyes, and his vision went black.  
'Just for safety you understand. I just need to make sure you don't escape while I check to see if there is any security at the door.'  
Busuzima was silent; he knew for a fact that there were several hidden turrets that would open fire the second and incorrect code was given. He started to form a plan to escape. A few minutes later, he heard his captors footsteps echoing back towards him, and the blindfold was removed, the knife back at his throat.  
'Move,' The female voice said again. Indeed, as Busuzima had remembered, around the corner was the door to the secret lab, a huge thick metal wall with a small computer terminal set to the side. The knife was removed, and Busuzima felt himself shoved forward.  
'Type in the codes, and then you can run away back to your friend.'  
Busuzima resisted the urge to run now, and studied the computer screen. Now, the access the gun turrets to target his kidnapper and not himself, he would need the Gamma, Beta and Omega codes in that order. His hands blurred across the keypad, and after only a brief pause to ready himself, he hit the enter key and threw himself to one side. As he had expected, as soon as he had pressed the last key, the woman behind him and thrown the knife with unnerving accuracy, the heavy metal blade smashing into the computers monitor and shorting the circuitry. Even as he landed, there was a whir as five gun turrets sprang out from their hiding places and started blasting away wildly, filling the tunnel with whizzing bullets. Busuzima crawled away on his hands and knees, not looking back, until he reached a small hiding space and rolled into it just before a stream of bullets pattered into the ground where he had been. The damn computer must have been destroyed before it had time to process all the codes, and now the turrets were firing blindly. He had only one choice; with a flash of light, he had morphed into his beast form, and after pausing for a moment for a gap in the gunfire he concentrated, turned invisible, and rolled out of hiding. Quickly rolling upright, his tongue lashed out, gripping one of the turrets and pulling it free of the wall in a shower of sparks. With a surprisingly nimble leap, he stuck to the wall, clambered up it, and tore another turret off of the roof. One that had emerged from a patch of moss suddenly swiveled around, blazing away at the chameleon zoanthrope hanging from the roof and sending him crashing to the floor in a shower of brick chipping and dust. Busuzima struggled to his feet, but he knew he was already dead; three turrets were turning towards him, and he felt his energy ebb from him.  
The first turret exploded in a shower of metal fragments and electric wiring. The second was already swinging around to face this new threat, but it too met a similar fate, showering Busuzima with debris. The last one opened fire, bullets zipping through the air like hyperactive bees, but suddenly a large, powerful form leapt forward, tearing it off the wall…..with its teeth.  
Before Busuzima stood a tall, powerful creature, covered from head to foot in thick, leathery green scale. Its arms were short but powerful, and it at first seemed to heavy to stand until you noticed the thick tree trunk-like tail that swayed from side to side, countering the weight. Its long muzzle was filled with horrendously sharp teeth, each one glittering as white as an angels wing. Its little eyes, set at the side of its head, were yellow and slitted, and it seemed to be wearing a crocodile hide waistcoat, a pair of ripped jeans and a ten galleon hat (note: a cowboy hat for those who do not know what it's real name is) with a feather stuck in it.  
'Who are you?' Said Busuzima, morphing back into his human form with exhaustion. The figure looked down at him, and then it too began to shrink, becoming slimmer and less scaly until it was once more in its human form.  
'Just call me Beth,' Said the sultry woman before him, pulling her clothes into a more comfortable position. The jeans, although ripped, still hung to her legs, and the hat was now atop a much prettier head, with a beautiful face with a head of rusty red hair in bangs that fell across her face. Busuzima goggled her in amazement.  
'You!? You were my kidnapper!?'  
'Yep. It's been a while Busuzima,' Said the woman, smiling with brilliantly white teeth. She was about to say something else, but the scientist pitched forward, blacking out in his exhaustion. The last words he heard before going totally under where 'Just like when we were married…….'  
  
Another chapter done, ahead of schedule. I had a big boost of inspiration out of the blue, so in the next chapter expect more from all the Bloody Roar II crew, plus some more of my own characters described in greater depth, a bit of Barry's shady dealings will be revealed, and the big question on everyone's lips will be answered……is Busuzima gay or not? Find out, when I post the next chapter!  



	4. Till Death Do us Part

Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shira, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.  
  
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!   
  
Chapter 4: Till Death Do Us Part  
  
It was starting to get dark, and outside Long's house, Alan Gado, Jenny, Jane and Alice were waiting for whatever it was that Long was doing.  
'What's taking him?' Said Alan, looking at his watch, 'This isn't like him.'  
'Yeah, I wonder what he's up to,' Said Jenny, tracing a long fingernail down her other hands palm while she waited, 'I'm going in to find out.'  
Jenny wondered back into the house, and started to look for Long as only she could; she started to go through every draw, cupboard and cabinet that wasn't locked shut. She would never admit to being a nosy person, but saying you're not something and the things you actually do often comes into conflict. Unfortunately Long was no fool, and everything was locked up tight, much to Jenny's disappointment, but then she noticed the light coming out from under the door from Long's bedroom, and seeing that she WAS looking for Long after all, she sidled her way to the bedroom door, waited for a moment, and then opened as quickly as she could, stepping inside. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she blinked, looked at Long, and saw…..  
She didn't stop laughing for about twenty minutes afterwards, tears rolling down her face and turning her usually pale white cheeks puffy and red.  
  
Vincent and Kevin crept silently through the bushes that grew around the massive mansion, trying to find out what was going on inside. Vincent had said that the mansion didn't have much security bar an elderly man who checked the place was empty once a night and locked all the doors. However, Mr. Kouto was no fool, and there were now several black clad men standing outside the main and side doors, each one holding a machine gun and a long knife hung from each ones belt.  
'They're human,' Said Vincent, sniffing the air, 'I can smell it. But no doubt he'll have some hired zoanthropes inside the mansion. Most likely they'll be worse than Horn and Tusk.'  
'Not a problem Vinny,' Said Kevin, cracking his knuckles and grinning, 'We're not here to get inside, remember? We're here to scout out the land and report back to the others.'  
'You're right. Well, it looks like there's nothing else we can do here, so lets head back to Long's house…'  
Suddenly, the bushes to their left began to rustle, and before either could react a small dark shape had bounded out of the foliage and crashed into Kevin, followed by several more. Three broke off from the rest and headed for Vincent, who had leapt to his friends aid and was kicking and punching with methodical care, each blow sending one of the dark figures tumbling away from the floored Kevin, but even the two zoanthropes couldn't do much in the face of overwhelming numbers. Both were soon pinned to the ground, and beaten senseless until they blacked out. Binding their hands and legs, the unconscious pair were carried off back into the bushes, and lost from sight.  
  
Back at Long's house, everyone was still waiting for Long to get outside with Uriko. Jenny hadn't emerged yet either, but if they listened they could hear faint voices bickering from within. Eventually, Long appeared in his Tommy Hill-figure T-shirt and jeans, his hair still tied in its long pony tail, but somehow in a more casual way. Uriko was behind him, dressed in her usual outfit (blue and white silk dress thing with VERY long sleeves) and Jenny, who was still giggling to herself quietly. Alan looked his old friend up and down, and snarled.  
'Where the hell is the real Long? Is this another trick Busuzima?' He growled, stepping forward with his arms raised to strike, but Uriko nimbly leapt in between them.  
'Wait, this IS the real Long! He's just….got his clothes in the wash! Yeah, that's right, he's washing his clothes and he's got to wear these instead.'  
'It's true,' Said Long, looking sheepish under their collective stares, 'I'm washing my clothes…(er, wait, that should be "threads")….I'm washing my threads right now, so I'm wearing this suit….(no, gear I think would me more appropriate)…..I'm wearing this gear until they're ready. Er, cool man…..'  
The silence was growing intense. Behind Lounge's back, Uriko slapped her brow and shook her head sadly; it had taken her several hours to hammer the more streetwise vocabulary into his head, and that was STILL the best he could manage.  
'Okay then,' Said Alice, slowly and carefully, 'Er, good for you Long. Well, now that we're all here, we should get going.'  
They others nodded, and turned to leave. Long bent down a little to whisper in Urikos ear.  
'Did that go okay? I've been practicing by street words.'  
Uriko gave him a long hard stare. Did she really have it in her to lie to her Kenpo master?  
'You did great Master Long. No one suspected a thing.'  
Hey, what do you know? I can.  
Jane stood, amazed at what she saw. Was this really the stern, noble Long she secretly loved and admired?!?!? But Long would never wear jeans! Was this a trick, or some sort of trap to entice her? It was the only possible explanation; no doubt Long had noticed all her longing stares and was trying to fool her into believing he was a totally different person. Well, TWO people could play that game; she would double bluff him, and pretend that she DIDN'T like him. When he was ready to declare his love for her instead of hiding it behind his clothes, she would return the love vows and then…..she could bearly even THINK about it, it excited her so much. Giving Long a brief scowl, she spun around and walked off, Jenny keeping pace with her, still giggling.  
'What's so funny Jenny?'  
The bat zoanthrope thought to regain control of her vocal cords, and took a brief gasp of breath.  
'If you think that Long looks bad now, you should have seen what he was wearing before….' She managed to blurt out, before another fit of laughter gripped her. Jane stared at the laughing woman for a moment, and took a sharp step away from her.  
'Uriko,' Muttered Long, as they continued to walk, 'Jane isn't looking at me. I've tried to catch her attention, but she just keeps looking away.'  
'Ah, she must be playing hard to get,' Said Uriko sagely. Long gave her a blank look.  
'Look,' Sighed Uriko, 'She's noticed that you've dressed up to impress her, right? But she still wants YOU to ask HER out, so she ignores you and waits for you to snap. So what you have to do is ignore her as well. In a few hours she'll be eating out of your hand.'  
'Are you sure? That sounds very unhygienic,' Said Long doubtfully.  
'Master, remember that conversation we had about metaphors?'  
'No.'  
'Ah? Well, that was one of them.'  
'Oh, I see.'  
Uriko gave another weary sigh. It was going to take a lot more than some jeans and a T-shit to get Long a date with Jane. She just hoped he didn't start talking to her and try out some of those words she had taught him….  
  
It was only a few minutes after the others had left when Kenji and Stun arrived at Long's house. Kenji searched through the house, while Stun waited outside, but there was no clue as to where they had gone. All Kenji could find was a awful lime green shirt that someone had tried to hide in one of Long's drawers. The young zoanthrope walked out the door, crestfallen.  
'Where are the others kid?' Said Stun, choking back the pain as he spoke. Kenji shrugged.  
'Beats me. All I can tell is that there were about six people in there, and they left not too long ago. One of them was Uriko.'  
'How can you tell?' Asked Stun.  
'Oh, she wears this fragrance, this little thing called Blossom 19th that you can get from….' Kenji stopped, suddenly aware that a boy shouldn't know this much about perfume, 'I dunno, some store I guess. But by the smell of it, she was definitely here.'  
'Well then, sniff her out,' Said Stun. Kenji gave him a strange look.  
'What?'  
'Look, it's pretty simple; your girlfriend smells like weeds-.'  
'Flowers,' Corrected Kenji.  
'Whatever. She smells of this stuff, and you can recognize it, so just take a deep sniff and figure out which way she went.'  
'What do I look like, a bloodhound? Can't we just fly around the city and try and spot them from the air?'  
'No can do my little friend; I'm worn out, probably won't be able to morph for a while.'  
Kenji sighed, but the thought of Uriko walking into a secret army of zoanthropes without knowing strengthened his resolve. He took a deep, long sniff, his nostrils twitching slightly as they tested the air currents.  
'Okay, I think I've got a lead,' He said, pointing down a road, 'This way, only a few blocks away.'  
'Easy for you to say kid; you haven't been flying around this city all damn day,' Muttered Stun, setting off after the running Kenji at a light jog.  
  
Busuzima groaned and rubbed his forehead, wincing as he fingers found the large bruise on his head. It was badly swollen and covered with crusted blood, but someone had placed a warm, wet towel over the wound, and the pain had went from a mind numbing explosion to simply being bloody painful. He managed to push himself up slightly, propping himself on his elbows, and took a look around himself. He was in the lab, and he could see the thick metal door had been ripped open by something big. Something REALLY big. Something he really didn't want to meet anytime soon. Swinging his legs off the cold steel bunk he was lying on, he groggily swayed to his feet and started to stagger towards the door. One hand was stretched out, pushing himself against the wall, the other was clasped to his brow, trying to lessen the pain. His foot hit the corner of a sharp desk, and he only just stopped himself cursing out loud, mouthing silent words of pain that could not be repeated on these pages anyway. Growling angrily under his breath, he was about to reach the gaping doorway when SHE came through it, smiling as sweetly as ever.  
'I see you're up then, honey,' She said, grinning nastily. Busuzima tried to spin around and hurry off in the other direction, but his feet were still trying to figure out what the hell the rest of the body was doing, and decided to remain where they were. Unfortunately, this meant that the estranged scientist toppled over his own legs, bashing his head off the steel floor. This time the curses were very clear to hear, but I'm still not going to repeat them, as they were very explicit and rude. The woman smiled again.  
'Oh dear, it looks like you're still not ready to walk yet. Never mind, let Beth help you up again.'  
The woman, who was very skinny and could not have weighed more than a hundred and ten pounds, bent down and heaved the stranded man up by the waist, hauling him over her shoulder with no apparent effort and dumping him back in the bunk. This time, she bound his arms and legs with leather straps.  
'There, now you can't hurt yourself walking around in your condition,' She said like an elderly mother, patting Busuzima on the head, 'Well, I think it's about time we got reacquainted.'  
Busuzima moaned, as the beautiful woman before him brought forth unhappy memories.  
'Look, Beth, can't we just have a coffee and talk things over like human beings?'  
At this, the red haired woman (Beth) laughed out loud, brushing her bangs out her face and grinning again, her green almond shaped eyes locked with Busuzima's.  
'But that's rather the point, isn't it? It's because of YOU that neither of us are human beings. It's YOUR fault that meant I had to leave my home and go live in Mexico for the last twelve years.'  
'I did what I had too,' Said Busuzima defensively, wincing as the memory returned unwanted, 'If I hadn't have done it, then I would still be in China testing cosmetics on damn rabbits. I HAD to show them my research.'  
'And your research included injecting me with crocodile DNA and turning me into a zoanthrope then?' Said Beth, still grinning, but this time in the manner a shark would grin rather than an attractive woman. Busuzima turned away, unable to meet her gaze.  
'I….I would never have done it unless I was sure,' He said, his voice wavering, 'We were married after all, and I loved you…..but there was no one else.'  
Beth didn't reply to this. She flicked her bangs back with a casual wave of her hand, and stood up, walking over to the bound Busuzima.  
'Well, I have not been idol these last twelve years. I was your partner in marriage, AND in the lab, and I've been working with a few of my new friends working on something.'  
Busuzima tried to hide his fear, but perspiration was dripping down his face. Beth reached into her pocket, and brought forth a long cylinder of paper.  
'Busuzima, I would like you to sign on the dotted line here….'  
'What?' Said Busuzima in surprise. He had expected something that would disembowel, disintegrate or dismember him in an unpleasant matter, but before his sweat fogged eyes there was a piece of paper with very tiny print on it. He squinted at the first two line.  
'What?' He said again, this time in amazement, 'You want to DIVORCE me!?'  
'Yep. Considering you turned me into a crocodile zoanthrope, I think it's a very fair trade.'  
'But….but I LOVE you!!!' He protested.  
'Oh please, I found your magazines, the ones with the…..men in them.'  
'I…..you…..what…..I can explain them!!!!' He managed to splutter the sentence out, but Beth didn't want to hear it.  
'Look, I'm okay with it. I've moved on, went on to see other people, lived in other….'  
'WHAT!?!?! You've been with other people!?!?!?!' Raged Busuzima, straining against the straps that held him to the table.  
'Well I was hardly expecting you to come back for me. After they gave you your little job, you forgot about me and left to do all your little experiments, so I decided to carry on life without you.'  
'But I thought you were still back in the village in China! I sent you relief money for crying out loud!'  
' Well I never got a penny of it,' Said Beth, her smile long faded now. Her face was much less attractive now, and set like stone. A long silence engulfed the pair again.  
'Look, just what are you planning to do?' Said Busuzima. Beth was walking around again, looking at the computer screens and data records with interest.  
'I heard you were working for a man named Mr. Kouto. Mr. Kouto had made lots and lots of enemies over the years, and all of them are very powerful. I'm working as a bounty hunter and hired saboteur, so they paid me to hunt down Kouto's secret lab and destroy anything I found there. Meeting you was simply a pleasant bonus.'  
'Well I'm sorry to say this, but this isn't Kouto's secret lab,' Said Busuzima, 'It's mine. I never knew that Kouto HAD a secret lab, but then again that's the point of it being a secret.'  
'What?' Said Beth, spinning around, 'But I followed you from the explosion in the last lab. I would have thought you would have went straight to Mr. Kouto.'  
'Hell, are you kidding? If what Barry said was right, then we'd --'  
'Who?' Asked Beth, now right up beside Busuzima again.  
'Barry. You know, the guy who was in the tunnel with me. I think you hit him with a dart.'  
Beth wasn't paying attention to him; her face had a faraway look on it, as if she was searching her memory for something. She shook her head quickly, and looked back at Busuzima.  
'Okay honey, this is the deal; tell me everything you know, and I'll just make you sign the divorce papers. If you don't cooperate, then I'm going to cut off a very certain appendage I haven't seen in twelve years, and THEN make you sign the papers. Now, start talking…..'  
  
'I really, really hate sewers,' Muttered Yugo, padding along yet another sewer tunnel. He was feeling tired, his nose was filled up with mucus in retaliation to the terrible smell, and to top it all off he had to lug Barry Serpent around on his back. The Mexican zoanthrope had started to hum some sort of tune, and whatever it was it was grating down Yugo's spin like fingers down a blackboard.  
'Will you please stop humming that damn tune!' Yelled Yugo, finally snapping. Barry stopped mid-bar, and turned his head so he was looking at Yugo, or at least Yugo's ear.  
'What'ssss wrong with it? It'ssss one of my favorite tunesssss. My father used to ssssing it to me when we went to El Piamo with the herd every sssspring.'  
Yugo groaned inwardly; he had stopped him humming, but it looked like he was going to recount his life story instead. He was already missing the humming.  
'Look, I really don't care about what you and your father did in El Piamo or whatever. Right now, we are in a sewer, looking for that useless @$$ Busuzima who's managed to get himself captured. I need him to get into this mansion with this secret army so I can heroically save the day.'  
'Yeah right. You'll be lucky to find Bussssuzima, and even if you do make it to the manssssion, you'll be gunned down in sssseconds. Mr. Kouto issssn't your average bad guy, or hasssn't that gotten through your densssse skull yet?'  
'Hey, I'm not your average good guy either,' Said Yugo angrily, 'I can do this without anyone's help.'  
'Except Busssuzima'sss of courssse,' Said Barry innocently, 'And he'ssss your worssst enemy after all.'  
Yugo stopped for a moment. As much as he loathed to admit it, Barry had a point; he was going to rescue that perverted freak who had done so much evil in his life for the sake of a little glory. Maybe….  
Yugo's train of thought was brutally derailed however, as Barry, using his telekinetic powers, had levitated a lump of rock from off the floor and sent it crashing into the wolf zoanthropes head. With a little moan Yugo toppled over, pitching head first into the sewer stream. Barry twisted nimbly in the air, and landed on his feet, standing up straight as he watched Yugo's body drift away. He had realized he could use his legs again for the last ten minutes, and had started to scheme upon how he would escape. Now all he had to do was find the lab…..  
It was several minutes later when Barry, tired and sweating, found the remains of the battle that Busuzima and Beth had been in. He nudged the remains of a sentry gun with a foot, and stuck his hands in his pocket. Oh well, he thought, there's only one way to explain this….Mr. Kouto hunted Busuzima down and wrecked the place. Sad really, he wasn't so bad for a Gaylord, but Barry wasn't really the kind of guy that would shed any tears about some prick of a scientist. Shrugging, he turned to leave, but suddenly he heard an all too familiar voice. He turned around, brow furrowed in confusion, and took a step towards the door.  
'Beth?' He said to himself, and crept closer…..  
  
Vincent gave a little grunt of pain, and half opened his eyes. They were blurred and ached badly, but he could make out his feet, which was at first very disturbing, but then quite a relief. He was hanging from a wall with his arms and legs shackled to it, and his head was bowed down, looking at the floor. Below him was a metal walkway, and through the little holes in the floor he could see men, scientist in white coats to be precise, rushing around in varying degrees of panic. This was all very confusing, but before he had a chance to sort his thought out, a sharp slap across the face brought to his attention that there was someone standing before him. Vincent turned to look at the figure, ignoring his stinging cheek.  
'Uncle Kouto,' He said blankly, his eyes glaring into those of his elder's, 'I see you've been using the secret lab then.'  
'Well observed Vincent. Indeed, I've been reviving the army your father helped me build.'  
'My father wasn't helping you build and army,' Hissed Vincent, 'He was trying to make the world a better place.'  
'And he was a fool in thinking that he could,' Said Kouto, turning his back on the young teenager to look out over the lab, 'He thought he was making biological aids for people who could not help themselves, but all he was doing was paving the way for me to rule. Tell me, do you really think that if I had not tried to take over them, that someone else would not have tried to do the same?'  
'I…I don't know,' Said Vincent reluctantly. Kouto shook his head sadly.  
'It really pains me to see you like this Vincent. You were always my favorite nephew; I only met you a few times before I was driven away by your parents, but I could tell you had intelligence and power. That is rare in a man, and even rarer in a zoanthrope. So I'm going to give you a chance to save your neck and that of your friends.'  
Vincent looked up, as a giant metal arm swung slowly around and came to a stop with a hiss of hydraulics. In its grip was Kevin, still unconscious and dangling like a puppet with its strings cut.  
'Let him go,' Vincent growled, but Kouto merely chuckled at his tone.  
'Now now Vincent, that's no way to treat your elders. Now, what is it to be? If yes, you can be my assistant, and help me rule this pitiful place. If no, I push this little red button here, and your friend will never know what hit him. Of course, we'll both know it's the floor that hits him, but that's another story.'  
Vincent was silent for a moment, head bowed in thought. What could he do? He couldn't escape, not in his condition, and his friends life was in danger. He slowly lifted his head, and looked Kouto straight in the eye.  
'If I join you…..you'll let Kevin live?'  
'You have my word,' Said Kouto, placing his right hand on his heart. Vincent paused again.  
'How do you expect to take on the military presence in the city?' He said finally. Kouto smiled, and laid a hand on Vincent's shoulder.  
'You leave that to your Uncle Kouto……'  
  
Kenji reached the corner at a sprint, his nostrils flaring as he tried to pick up the scent. He had lost it a moment ago as he passed by a pizza joint, but picked it up again a few streets away. Stephen Goldberg was still some way behind him, panting for breath and cursing a stitch in his right side. As Kenji waited for his bulky companion to catch up, he noticed the man had a large but thin cardboard box tucked under his arm.  
'Pizza!?' Yelled Kenji, 'You stopped for pizza at a time like this!?'  
'Relax kid, when you're hungry, you should eat,' Said Stun with labored breath, taking a seat on a handy flight of steps and opening the box with a waft of steam, 'I learnt that much living on the streets these past few years. Want a slice?'  
Kenji opened his mouth to argue, but his stomach intercepted the message and changed it into a "yes" before it reached his vocal chords. Taking a seat next to the hulking man, he accepted the slice handed to him, and took a bite. He grimaced for a moment, and then started to pick off the olives.  
'So Stephen,' Said Kenji after a few minutes of silence, 'Tell me a bit about yourself. If we're going to run around this city in the middle of the night looking for my friends, I'd like to know a bit more about you.'  
Stun paused, a slice of pizza half way towards his mandibles hidden by the scarf he wrapped around his face and shoulders. He placed the slice back in the box, and sighed.  
'It's been pretty tough,' He said, shrugging his shoulders, 'When Busuzima turned me into….this, my whole life changed for the worse. Sure, I could turn into a monster that could rip up buildings with his teeth, but I was still me, in a sense. I wanted to keep hold of my humanity, but for me to live I had to keep taking a formula that included some……unsavory ingredients. It was a nightmare to take it, and a nightmare without it. I was stuck between two points and I couldn't get out.'  
He bowed his head for a moment, apparently oblivious to Kenji or anything else for that matter.  
'When I broke loose and started to hunt down Busuzima, I met Yugo and Long on the way. I got into a fight with the pair of them, damn near killed them both, but in the end it was me who ended up on my back. Maybe I didn't want to kill them because I was still human inside, but for whatever reason, after the whole business was over the took me in, and helped me to get back on my feet……of talons, whatever the hell these things are now. I learned to live with a different kind of serum, and I got all the help I needed form the guys like Yugo and Alice and Long. I never went to them of course; you were still screwed up from your mind control, and Uriko….well, she doesn't like bugs, but I could always rely on one of them to answer my call if I needed them. So kid, I owe a lot to your guardians, so I guess I owe you one too.'  
Stun stood up, and handed him the box with the remaining pizza.  
'There, we're even. Now, lets find the others.'  
Kenji stood up and nodded. Together, the two unlikely allies headed off once more into the dark alleys, and disappeared.  
  
Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I had SO much work to do :P. Anyway, lots more action on the way, where we discover the truth behind Busuzimas supposed marriage, we hear more from Kenji and his struggle to find Uriko again, Jane Gado has a good old bitch about men and why they never do what you want them to, and we find out if Vincent really has turned over to the dark side. Until then, keep on writing!  



	5. Turncoats

Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shira, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.  
  
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!   
  
Chapter 5: Turncoats  
  
Yugo groaned, and peeled his face off the sticky sewer floor. Almost throwing up at the smell, he blinked once or twice and looked around. His vision was slightly blurred, but he managed to stagger upright with the minimal of problems, supporting himself on a wall with one hand. He clutched his head with his free hand, as bright lights flashed across his vision. Barry Serpent….it must have been him…..but he said he couldn't walk! Damn, I was so careless!  
He looked up, and tried to find out where the hell he was. Suddenly, he spotted something; a footprint, left in the stinking mud and slime that lined the floor. They headed off down a side tunnel, leading towards a distant source of light. Yugo gave a savage grin, and cracked his knuckles; payback was due.  
  
Vincent stood with his hands behind his back, trying to ignore everything around him. His black uniform Uncle Kouto had given him was itchy and ill fitting, but it was a small price to pay; he had bought himself and Kevin a little more time at least. He swept a few strands of hair out of his face with a gloved hand; the gloves were something else Vincent didn't like, but again it was worth it. Behind him, he could hear Kouto discussing something with a pair of scientists, but before he could train his hearing to listen in on them the two men had bowed and walked away. Kouto turned and walked towards Vincent, who remained facing forwards and not looking up when the old man laid a hand on his shoulder.  
'You're not happy, are you?' He said. Vincent didn't look around.  
'I don't blame you; you've had to make a difficult decision; your own pride and honor to save your friends life. That boy is lucky to have you as a friend, otherwise he would have been long dead.'  
Still Vincent remained silent. Kouto gave a grunt of impatience, and turned away.  
'Know this Vincent; you're working for me now, so don't think you can act like you don't. You should learn to show some respect, or else your friend will be taking a fall after all.'  
Vincent remained silent, but bowed his head. Kouto gave a small smile.  
'That's better.'  
  
'Hey, wait up kid!' Yelled Stephen Goldberg, panting for breath as he tried to catch up to the distant figure of Kenji, who was running full sprint down the alleyway. The young ninja turned to wait for his bulky companion to catch up to him.  
'Oh great, not again?' Moaned Kenji, 'This is the third time in an hour! At this rate we'll reach Uriko and the others aged one hundred and thirty!'  
'Hey, easy kid,' Said Stun, easing himself onto a small wall to catch his breath, 'We'll find them soon enough.'  
'Well, just make it quick,' Said Kenji grudgingly, folding his arms and walking to the end of the street. Leaning against a sign post, he looked up into the night sky, and gazed at the full, white moon.  
'I'm coming Uriko,' He whispered, 'I'll get there, even if I have to drag Stun along by his mandibles.'  
Stun, who was still sitting on the small wall, glanced up to see if Kenji was looking at him, and reached a large purple skinned hand into his trouser pocket. It came out again holding a small passport photo, made all the smaller in the giant mans hand, and had a middle-aged man smiling out happily from it. Flipping it over, Stun read the words "Stephen Goldberg, aged 31". He turned it over again and looked at that smiling face, before giving a small sigh and casting it into the wind, where it fluttered through the air and drifted into a sewer drain.  
'Maybe it's time I moved on in my life?' He mused to himself. He looked up to where Kenji had been standing , and stood up, nodding to him.  
'OK, I'm done. Lets go and --'  
But before he could finish, something leapt out the shadows faster than the eye could follow, and bowled Stun over, before racing forward and barging Kenji to the floor. The young man was quick, but even his reflexes weren't fast enough to help him. With a groan, he picked himself up off the floor and looked around. Stun was getting to his feet, shaken by the sudden ambush, but there was no sign of any attackers; just the two of them in the empty street, as a newspaper was caught by the breeze and whisked into the air.  
'What the hell was that thing?' Breathed Kenji.  
  
Bounding through the night streets, Drake Dante searched the city for answers. The question was; What am I?  
It had been a strange feeling to realize he wasn't human, or possibly that he was no LONGER human. Something had happened to him, but he couldn't remember anything much; a few items stirred memories, like a glance in the mirror or the smell of fresh bread being made all sparked little hints of things that he had done.  
And he could remember a woman. She didn't have a name, and he couldn't remember her face, but there had been a woman that he had loved. It was this more than anything else that fueled his need for knowledge; if he wasn't human, then what was he? Was he like those two he had ran into? They looked human (well, the young one did) but Drake could see that they were hiding their true selves under a human-like appearance. Could he change into something like them? If so, how? The questions spiraled around his mind, every second adding another one to the pile while none were answered.  
I'm not human.  
Then what am I?  
What am I?  
WHAT AM I!?!?!?!?!?  
As he bounded into the air and hopped along the rooftops, he could feel himself going insane……..  
  
Back in the sewers, Yugo was hot on Barry Serpents track. He had long since gotten used to the stench, and had learned to define the cobra zoanthropes scent from among the sewage. He was getting closer, he could SMELL it!  
Suddenly, something small and vaguely square like fluttered down a drain and landed on his nose. With a growl, he pulled it off and examined it. He studied the picture of the middle-aged man smiling like a fool, and flipped it over.  
'"Stephen Goldberg, aged 31"? Hey, could this be --?'  
Yugo looked at the picture again, and stuffed it into a pocket on his jeans.  
'I can't say it looks much like Stun, but you never know,' He said, before heading after Barry again.  
  
Barry Serpent, meanwhile, was crouched outside Busuzimas secret lab. The young Mexican zoanthrope was crouched behind one of the ruined security turrets, peering into the lab itself through the busted door. He couldn't see much, but he could certainly hear very well.  
'Look, I've told you everything I know! Just don't tear it off!' Squealed Busuzima, and Barry couldn't help but grin as his partner in crime cried like a little girl who lost her dolly.  
'Maybe you did, but I have one last question for you,' Came the other voice, female and very very familiar to Barry. The Mexicans brow furrowed; surely it couldn't be…..?  
'Anything, just don't pull it off, PLEASE!?!?!?!' Wailed the scientist.  
'OK, just answer me this; why were you gathering those prisoners DNA for?'  
'WHAT!?!?! You knew about that!?'  
'My contractors are very well informed. They know what Kouto is doing, but they want to know WHY he is doing it. For all we know he could be cloning a new army of advanced zoanthropes using that data.'  
'Well, he'd have a hard time doing it; Barry Serpent has all the DNA material. I slipped it into his pocket while he wasn't looking.'  
Barry paused for a moment, and touched the pocket of his jeans. There was a slight clink of glass on glass; the DNA samplers. Well, what do you know? All the while Barry had just thought Busuzima had pinched his butt, but it turns out he had planted valuable material in his pocket. Well, looks like I'd better save Busuzimas worthless hide, again.  
'Well, you may not have the DNA, but no doubt your partner will go straight to Kouto with the data,' The other voice was saying. Barry took a breath, stood up, and walked casually into the lab.  
'I wouldn't sssssay that now,' He said, leaning against the wall and pulling the glass samplers from his back pocket. His eyes took in the scene; the wrecked lab, the metal table with Busuzima strapped to it, and..…  
'Barry?' Said Beth, whirling around to face him, 'Barry Sanchez?'  
'The name'ssss Sssserpent now. It'sssss been a while Beth,' He said. So, I was right after all……  
'Wait a minute?' Said Busuzima, straining to sit up to see the both of them, 'Do you two know each other?'  
Beth turned back to her husband, rusty red bangs bouncing as she did so.  
'Yeah, we do; it was a few years ago, when I was traveling through South America and Mexico to reached the border to North America. My jeep got busted and I was nowhere near a town or village, but then Barry came along…..'  
'Yeah, I remember that,' Said Barry, stepping forward, 'It wassss when I was ssssstill human. I wassss a young cattle herder, and I wasssss riding back from the sssssummer ranch after driving the familiesssss herd there. I ssssspotted the jeep and decided to help her out; bessssidesssss, ssssshe was ssssstripping herssssself down in the heat, and hey, I'm only male after all.'  
'Hey, that's my wife you're talking about!' Yelled Busuzima. Barry's eyes goggled.  
'Your WIFE!?!?!?! How did a Gaylord like you get a girl like her!?!?!?'  
'WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?!?!?' Raged Busuzima, but Beth laid a hand firmly across his mouth.  
'It's a long story Barry, but yes, Busuzima and I are married.'  
'Wow, I'm ssssorry for you,' He said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Beth smiled.  
'But yeah, it's been a long time. How did we end up leaving each other again?'  
'Well, it could be the fact that you pumped me full of cobra DNA and turned me into a zoanthrope,' Barry said, more hurt than angry, 'The leasssst you could have done wassss asssk.'  
'Oh, yeah. Sorry about that,' Said Beth, 'I guess I got carried away with my testing, something that Busuzima here taught me.'  
'Hey, no biggie. Ssssso anyway, from what I heard, you're here to find out what Kouto isssss up to?'  
'Yeah, and it seems you have the DNA samples there with you.'  
'Not quite; I wassss ordered to have sssssome of the better ssssamplesssss sssssent sssstraight to Kouto at the lab.'  
'And where's that?'  
'Under the city manssssion. There'ssssss a tunnel in this lab that leadsssss ssssstraight to it.'  
Beth was about to say something, but stopped as a looming figure emerged through the wrecked door.  
'AHA! Found you at last!' Yelled Yugo, leaping forward and grasping the Mexican around the throat, 'So you said you couldn't walk, eh? Well after I'm through with you, you REALLY won't be able to walk!'  
'Ggggggaaaaahhhhhh!' Was Barry's choked reply. Suddenly Yugo found that he was no longer pinning Barry to the floor, but was being lifted up off the ground by some invisible force.  
'Oh great, not this psychic stuff again!?' He yelled, just before his head was rammed hard against the wall. Barry staggered up, leaning against the steel table that Busuzima was strapped to for support.  
'Hey Barry! Let me loose here will ya?'  
'Hell no! I think you look hilariousssssss strapped to a table like that.'  
'You dick Barry!' Screamed Busuzima, and pulled against the leather strap. There was a groan, and his right arm was free, which immediately reached up and slammed Barry's head against the metal table. With a snarl, Barry smashed the heel of his palm into Busuzima's nose, before the pair grabbed each other by the throat, trying to throttle the other to death.  
'CUT IT OUT!!!!!!!!'  
Everyone stopped, and three pairs of eyes turned to look at the fuming Beth, red with anger and quivering like a small localized earthquake.  
'Now listen to me! You, the guy who just came in here!'  
'Yes?' Said Yugo slowly, still hovering in the air.  
'If you plan to do any fighting, take it outside, and do it later! Barry, Busuzima, let go of each other RIGHT NOW, or I'll come over there and pull both your damn empty heads off your shoulders!'  
There was a moment of silence, and then the pair released each other, if rather grudgingly. The silence was beginning to get very creepy, as all three men continued to stare at Beth.  
'Right, OK then,' She said, rather more calmly now, 'Now we have that sorted out……just why is everyone still looking at me?'  
'Er, I don't know if you know this,' Said Yugo, licking his dry lips, 'But the top button of your blouse is undone.'  
Beth looked down, and indeed her blouse was open, revealing her rather bountiful cleavage.  
'Oh honestly,' She said, exasperated, 'Men!'  
  
Which, funnily enough, were just the same words uttered by Jane Gado as she patrolled the streets with her father Alan and Jenny. The group had decided to split up to cover more ground, so Long and Uriko had went back to the school where Kenji had first been kidnapped, while the others combed through the city looking out for anything suspicious. They had only been apart for a few minutes before Jane began to bitch about men, in particular Long.  
'I mean, what is WITH him?' She said, kicking an empty soda can across the street, crushing it under the savage impact. Jenny (who was still giggling about Long's suit even after thirty minutes) didn't say anything, but Alan gave his daughter a calculating look.  
'Is there something wrong with Long? Granted, his behavior has been confusing, but then again so have you. Is there something you're not telling us?'  
'No! Well, sort of,' She said, scuffing the toes of her combat boots, 'I don't want to talk about it.'  
'Oh go on,' Said Jenny in a break from her private humor, 'We won't tell. Hell, one of the people you're going to tell is your father, and the other is one of your best friends.'  
'Well,' Said Jane uncertainly, torn between the need to gossip and her hidden secret passion for Long. Being a women, the gossip side won.  
'Alright, but you've got to swear that you'll never tell a soul,' She hissed. The other two nodded.  
'OK then. Well, it's just….I really have the hots of Long.'  
There was silence.  
'And?' Said Jenny expectantly. Jane blinked in surprise.  
'What!? But how did you…..I didn't say……Oh my God, is it that obvious?'  
'I'm afraid so,' Said Alan, laying a huge hand on his daughters shoulder, 'We probably knew a lot longer before you even realized it yourself.'  
'But I don't know what to do!' She wailed, 'Long doesn't like me! He's all dressed up to put me off and he's talking really funny!'  
'Yes, that is rather odd,' Said Alan, rubbing his chin, 'I wonder what's got into him?'  
'Oh please, isn't it obvious?' Said Jenny, 'Look Jane, Long is ga-ga over you, but he doesn't know how to win you over, so he's taking advise from the nearest source to the outside world.'  
'Do you mean he's taking dating tips from Uriko!?' Said Jane, 'So THAT'S why he's been acting strange.'  
'Exactly, so what we have to do is get the old Long back. And fortunately for you, my love-sick little friend,' Said the bat zoanthrope, tapping her little nose with a long finger, 'I think I know just how to do that…..'  
  
Kevin tugged at the bars again, for the sake of it. He knew they wouldn't budge; each one was as thick as his arm, and made of something VERY solid indeed. Slumping back to the floor, he wiped the sweat from his brow, and winced as the back of his hand brushed against the large lump he had over one eye.  
He didn't know how long he had been down here, but by the very small amount of light that filtered through a window set on the wall of the room outside his cell, he would guess it was about three o'clock in the morning. And judging by the increased sounds of activity coming from above, they were getting ready to release the clones.  
'Damn it!' Cursed Kevin, kicking a foot against one of the bars, 'I wonder where the hell Vincent is? God knows what they're doing to him right now? I gotta get outta here!'  
Suddenly, there was a bang from the metal door of the cell, and Kevin looked up just in time to see three guards walk in. One was holding a gun straight at him, while two others were man-handling a sack into the room. The sack seemed totally against this, and was wriggling around madly in the men's grasp. One of them dropped their end, and got a blow across the kneecaps for his troubles. The other guard pulled a baton from his belt, and gave the bag a hefty wallop, knocking whoever (or whatever) was in the sack unconscious. As the other guard picked himself up off the floor, the three of them wondered out the cell again, closing it tightly behind them.  
'Good riddance to that bloody thing,' Said one gruffly, shoving the baton back into his belt, 'At least there was only one that had gone faulty.'  
'Those things give me the creeps,' Added another one, 'The way they just stand there when they don't have a command, and those eyes…..'  
'Forget the eyes, it's the rest of their face that freak me out.'  
The three guards headed up a flight of stairs, and their voices became indistinct. Kevin stood up, and watched the bag cautiously. As he crept towards it, trying to peer down the sacks neck to catch a glimpse of its contents, the cloth began to shift, and from the bag came…….  
  
Kenji was perched on the end of a tall wall, his nostrils flaring as he picked up Urikos scent from the other usual city-type smells. He took another deep sniff, and grinned triumphantly.  
'That way!' He called down to Stun, who was looking up at him from the pavement nearly forty feet down, 'Only three more blocks and we'll be right behind them!'  
'Good going kid,' Called Stun, watching as the agile ninja leapt down and landed neatly on his feet, 'With any luck they'll have found the others, and we can go trash that Mr. Kouto's place.'  
Kenji nodded, and set off at a fast run in the direction of the smell. His mind was racing with thoughts about his beloved Uriko; it seemed like an eternity since last time they had seen each other, yet it had only been a day or so. When he found her, he was going to……well, he wasn't quite sure WHAT he was going to do, but needless to say they would both enjoy it a lot. He didn't even hear Stun cry out for him to slow down, he was so caught up in his fantasy world.  
A good distance behind him, Stun jogged along, wiping the sweat from his brow with the end of his dirty scarf.  
'Damn it, why is he always rushing around so much?' He complained.  
  
Back in the mansion, Mr. Kouto was pacing slowly around the room. Before him stood three men; the first two were Horn and Tusk, still mildly bruised from their encounter with Vincent and Kevin, and the last one was a very different character altogether.  
Kouto came to a halt in front of the stranger, and looked him carefully up and down. The man was not as tall or heavy set as Horn or Tusk, but he still loomed over the elderly old man. He was wearing a long dark trenchcoat, and a large brimmed hat covered his face in shadows. Although his features were hidden, upon closer inspection two small points of light could be made out amongst the darkness; small, evil little points of light.  
'I see I have need of your services, Mr. King,' Said Kouto, staring at those points of light, 'It seems that while my nephew and his friend have been dealt with, there are others they have contact with who are now on their way here. They may present a…problem.'  
The figure reached into one of his coat pockets with a hand, clad in a black leather glove, and pulled out a cigarette. He put it somewhere in the shadows, presumably where the mouth was, and lit it with a match.  
'It would appear so,' Said the man, his voice tight and rasping, like he was constantly being strangled. He breathed out, and a gust of smoke blew into Mr. Kouto's face. Horn and Tusk took a step forward, snarling angrily, but Kouto held a hand up and they backed off, grumbling and cracking their knuckles.  
'You are cocky, Mr. King. That will not do at all; remember how you came to be in my services to start with?'  
There was a blur of movement, and suddenly Kouto pulled a long sharp sword from his walking stick and sliced the cigarette into three neat slices. The figure, Mr. King, staggered back, the end of it still in his mouth.  
'Do not presume that I have become weak in the past three years,' Said Kouto warningly, 'Or I shall have to teach you another, more painful lesson than the last.'  
'S-sorry Mr Kouto,' Said King quickly, 'Didn't mean to step out of line sir.'  
'Excellent. Well, as I am detained due to the reviving of my army and my……other "matters", I need you three to halt their advance until the clones can all be revived. Tusk, I want you to take the young girl and the old man, they're heading up Green Avenue. Horn, you go for the other three, around the City Center. Go now.'  
The two hulking brutes bowed solemnly and headed out the room.  
'And what about me Mr. Kouto?' Said King. Kouto smiled.  
'Ah yes. It seems Busuzima and Barry Serpent have gone missing. If my spies are correct, then it seems that a bounty hunter sent by my enemies has captured them both. For the moment, they are not a concern of mine, but two of Busuzima's prisoners have escaped. They may or may not know about my secret project, but I cannot take that risk; dispose of them.'  
'Yes Mr. Kouito,' Said the dark man, before crouching down and leaping forward, out an open window and bounding away into the night. Kouto watched him go.  
'Ah, the Zoanthrope,' Said Kouto wistfully, 'Our natural superiors, a step up in the food-chain. How I wish I was one of them.'  
He grinned for a moment, and slid his hidden sword back into his cane.  
'And soon I will be like them. But far, far stronger…….'  
  
'Hello, you,' Said Long, and for the hundredth time, Uriko slapped her forehead.  
'No Master Long! You're meant to say "Hey dude". It's what COOL people say!'  
'But how do they know?' Said Long, puzzled.  
'Know what?'  
'If they are a dude. If I were to say "Hey dude" to anyone, I might say someone who is not a dude IS a dude, thus providing much confusion to all parties.'  
'…….Master, I didn't understand a word of that,' Said Uriko, but Long didn't seem to be paying attention.  
'And what about masculine and feminine tenses? Should I call a woman or young lady a "dudette", for example?'  
Uriko shook her head. Maybe she should have started on something a little more simple.  
'Okay, forget about the dude stuff for now, Master. We have more important things to do.'  
'I agree. Perhaps it would be best to focus on the task at hand,' Said Long, thoroughly relived that his lesson had ended; it was almost like being a young man again, training Kenpo under his fierce teacher. They walked in silence for a little while, peering into the dark corners of the streets as they made their way towards the City Center.  
  
There was a saying, that Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn. Right now, Yugo would have agreed with it.  
'God, doesn't she ever shut up?' He muttered to Barry, as Beth ranted on a Busuzima. Barry shook his head.  
'Nope. Ssshe'sss a very sssstrong minded woman.'  
'Iron hard minded by the sounds of things. She's even worse than Alice when I leave glasses on the table with no coaster!'  
'Harsssssh, is ssssshe?' Asked Barry. Yugo grimaced.  
'She once kicked me out a top story window when I said I wanted to carry on boxing. I had to have therapy before I could see her again. I'm telling you, I should have put my foot down on the matter.'  
'But insssstead sssshe put her foot down on your head,' Chuckled the snake zoanthrope. Yugo glared at him.  
Busuzima winced as Beth waved a finger under his nose. It may have been nearly twenty years since they had last talked, but he still knew better than to think that she wouldn't hit him just because there were people watching. In fact chance of her hitting him were INCREASED because of that fact.  
'And why didn't you say anything about those two looking at my breasts?' She snarled, pointing at Yugo and Barry, who suddenly tried to look a lot more inconspicuous.  
'Well I've already ssssseen them anyway,' Protested Barry, 'And wolf-boy over here already hasss a girlfriend, so he hasss no excusssse.'  
'Hey, don't drag me into this!' Growled Yugo, slugging Barry on the arm.  
'Neither of you should have been looking,' Snarled Busuzima, 'She's MY wife!'  
'Your ex-wife as soon as you sign that damn divorce paper,' Beth pointed out.  
'That's not the point! It's the principle of the thing!'  
'Look, everyone shut up!' Yelled Yugo. Everyone fell silent, and turned to look at the wolf zonathope stand up, 'Look, I don't know why the hell I'm still here, but I've gotta job to do; my friends are all in danger, and I'm the only one who can save them!'  
'Delusions of grandeur,' Muttered Barry.  
'Hey, I'm gonna look that up after I'm done, and if it's not something REALLY nice about me I'm gonna kick your @$$! Anyway, like I said, I've got stuff to do, and there's only one thing I've gotta say to you people. Who is the real enemy here? Is it that bastard Kouto, or is it each other?'  
There was a reflective pause from the three others.  
'Er, is it each other?' Busuzima guessed. Yugo sighed.  
'And you have the nerve to call ME dumb. Look, I'm going into this mansion and I'm going to mess up whatever it is he's got planned, so are you guys coming with me or not?'  
'What, and go up against Mr. Kouto? Are you insane!?!?!?!?!' Said Busuzima.  
'That'ssss what I told him, but would he lissssten?' Said Barry.  
'What you're suggesting is pretty stupid,' Said Beth, 'Recon reports given to me for this mission say that he's got at least fifty guards inside the mansion itself, all armed and ready to kill. Add to that the hired scum he's bound to have tucked away somewhere and his force of clones, and you've got yourself a nasty little army in there. Are you really wanting to bust in there and kill him?'  
'Er, yeah. Anyone wanna lend a hand?'  
'You're crazy,' Said Busuzima, 'Me, I thought I was crazy what with all the cooky experiments and all, but YOU take the cake my friend!'  
'I like the idea,' Said Beth.  
'WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!' Said Barry and Busuzima together.  
'I like it. My employers would pay me well for taking such a leap of "initiative" and actually eliminating their enemy from inside his own stronghold.'  
'Look, Beth, I like money asssss much asssss the next guy,' Said Barry Serpent desperately, 'But thiss issss jusssst plain sssstupid! Money isssss only worth it if you're alive to sssspend it!'  
'I hate to agree with him, but I do,' Said Busuzima, 'You can't go in there alone!'  
'I wont be. Yugo will be there with me.'  
'Him!?!?! He can't even tie his shoelaces! He thinks "stealth" is a type of after-shave! His way of grace is to cough politely before hitting them over the head!'  
'Hey, I'm standing right here butt-munch!'  
'Yeah, I can see that,' Said Busuzima. Yugo growled, and bunched his fists up.  
'Beth, are you sssure you want to do thissss?' Said Barry. Beth nodded.  
'Okay, then I'm coming along too.'  
'Oh God, not you too!?!?! I may hate you, but I thought you had at least some brains!'  
'Hey, ssshe wantsss to go, so I'm going too, to make ssssure ssshe comessss out again,' Said Barry, 'If you're her husssband, you'd go too.'  
Busuzima opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't say anything. After a moment, his shoulders drooped.  
'Oh what the hell,' He sighed, 'We're all dead anyway.'  
'That's the spirit,' Said Yugo, 'Okay then, let's got kick some @$$!'  
Marching boldly forward, Yugo headed off down a tunnel. The others waited for a moment, until Yugo came marching back up the tunnel.  
'Er, did I just go the wrong way?'  
'Yep,' Said Barry, grinning.  
'Alright then,' Said Yugo, quickly gathering his wits, 'Lets head down the RIGHT tunnel, and then kick some @$$!'  
As the set off, Busuzima leant over to whisper to Barry.  
'Why is he the leader? He's one of the enemy after all!'  
'Beatssss me, but let him have hissss fun. He'ssss not going to be alive for very much longer.'  
  
And there you have it, another chapter down, and oh so many more to follow J. I'm sorry I didn't get some of the things I promised in the last chapter into this one; Jane bitching about men, and we never really find out MUCH about Vincents sudden change of sides, but hey, I just ran out of room J. But never fear, all these things shall be answered in the NEXT chapter (promise), along with some other things; just who is Mr. King, and what is he doing with Mr. Kouto? And, get ready Keniko fans; Kenji and Uriko finally get back together! Hurray, hurrah, sounds of bells ringing, people singing the streets, ect. Join me next time, won't you?   
  



	6. Reunited at Last

Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shira, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.  
  
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!   
  
Chapter 6: Reunited at Last  
  
Stun staggered around the last corner, and leant against the wall, panting for breath. Kenji, who was only a short distance ahead, skidded to a halt and jogged back towards the panting man.  
'Hey, come on already! We're nearly there!'  
'God kid, who are you, the damn Energizer Bunny? Why the heck aren't you tired!?'  
'I AM tired, I'm just not letting it get to me, now come on!'  
Stun straightened up, and winced as the feeling returned to his legs.  
'Okay, but when we've found them and all this is over, I'm going straight to the nearest motel and booking a room for a week; all this running around has tired me right out.'  
Kenji was running before he'd even finished the sentence. With a slight growl of annoyance, Stun lumbered off after him.  
And from the shadows of the opposite street, Mr. King watched them head off. With a little chuckle, he headed off after them, unnoticeable in the shadows.  
  
Jane, Alan and Jenny were seated on a bench, in the middle of a small park near the City Center.  
'So all I've got to do to get Long to like me again is to shout at him?' Said Jane doubtfully. Jenny smiled.  
'Yep, that's all. Men are so easy to please, isn't that right Alan.'  
'I remain silent to protect my dignitary and that of my genders,' Said Alan, sitting stiffly with his arms folded and a rather sullen look on his face. He really didn't like listening to women talk, but he had been forced to listen for four hours about boys, women's magazines and a number of more "personal" topics that Alan had vowed never to talk about and never wished to hear again, ESPECIALLY from his daughter.  
'Oh you're such a stiff-ass Alan,' Said Jenny with a childish grin, 'You need to loosen up a little, live life a bit more.'  
'I'll "loosen up" once Kouto is stopped and all the clones are destroyed,' Said Alan sternly.  
'Okay, no need to get like that about it. Hey Jane, doesn't he sound like Long when he goes like that?'  
The pair chuckled to themselves, while Alan sat there and quietly fumed to himself. Suddenly, the veteran lion zoanthrope looked up, his ears pricking.  
'Something's out there,' He growled, looking around at the dark greenery. There was a rustling of leaves as the wind blew through the branches of a tree, but he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary.  
'Look!' Said Jenny, pointing at something at the far end of the park, near the entrance gate, 'Someone's locking us in here!'  
The three leapt up and ran towards the gate. They had nearly reached it when the two figures fiddling with the lock finished what they were doing and ran off into the darkness. Alan grabbed the metal bars and tugged, but they didn't budge.  
'Damn it! Can we scale the walls?'  
'No chance, they're too steep and smooth,' Said Jane, running her hand across the stone surface, 'But maybe we can get out the other gate. It's on the other side of the park, but if we run, we may get there before those goons do.'  
They set off, running as fast as they could, through the park, the shadow enwrapped shrubbery swaying as they passed. They had just crested the hill that lay above the gate, when the spotted the small group of figures enter through the gate.  
'Damn, we're too late,' Growled Alan.  
Well, they're not locking the gate,' Said Jenny, peering through the darkness.  
'Yeah, and those guys seem to be soldiers of some kind; they're all wearing some kind of uniform, but I can't make it out in this darkness.'  
'They're wearing dark green combat fatigues,' Said Jenny. She turned, grinning slightly, 'Hey, I AM a bat zoanthrope after all; night vision comes with the territory.'  
'What are a load of soldiers doing here?' Said Alan, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, 'Are they some kind of anti-zonathrope unit?'  
'Wait, there's another guy,' Said Jenny, looking out again at the group, 'A big guy, REALLY big. He's wearing leather clothing, the type bikers wear, and he seems to be the one in command. Oh yeah, and he's REALLY GOD DAMN BIG!'  
'Well whoever they are, they're fanning out,' Jane added, pointing at the group which was now heading off in small teams of two men. The large brute of a man stood at the gateway, his arms folded and a fierce scowl on his faced.  
'I wonder why the left only one man on the gate?' Said Jenny. Alan gave a small sniff, and growled under his breath.  
'Because I'd stake my life on that guy being a zoanthrope. These must be some of the guys from Mr. Kouto's personal army.'  
'Oh great, so he knows we're coming?' Said Jenny in exasperation, 'Well THAT certainly ruins the element of surprise.'  
'Forget about that, it's Long and Uriko I'm worried about,' Said Jane, but Alan shook his head.  
'Long and Uriko are both capable of looking after themselves. Right now, we have to worry about our own hides.'  
'Well, what are we going to do, and make it quick, because we've got four soldiers heading straight towards us,' Hissed Jenny. Alan gave a grin.  
'Well, what else can we do?'  
HE stood up, smiled at the surprised soldiers, and hit one very hard over the head. The man, loosing his balance from the blow, slipped on the grass and tumbled down the hill.  
'That's my father,' Sighed Jane, leaping forward and kicking another guard hard in the groin, 'Never one for tactics.'  
  
In Long's house, Alice sighed, and switched the television off.  
'I wonder how everybody else is doing?' She sighed, looking out the window the pointed east, across the whole of the city. In the distance, the bright light that was the city Mansion glittered in the dark backdrop of the night. As she watched it, she imagined the fight going on between her friends, her little sister Uriko, and her boyfriend Yugo (who STILL hadn't come back from getting Long's groceries). She'd never had admitted that she really was Yugo's boyfriend to anyone else, but when she was alone and all by herself, she really did miss him.  
She stood up, her face set in a serious mask of determination. She went into the kitchen, picked up a red towel and, with all the grace and reverence of a samurai preparing himself for battle, tied it around her forehead. She checked herself in the mirror, turned, and ran out into the streets.  
'No one is touching a hair on my wolf-boys head, do you hear me!?' She yelled at the night, 'No one!!'  
She stopped yelling when she noticed that a rather elderly man, dressed in his dressing gown and slippers, was watching her owlishly in the middle of putting his garbage in the dustbin.  
'Er, sorry to alarm you sir,' She said sheepishly, before rushing off to find the others. The old man watched her go, and shook his head.  
'Kids these days,' He muttered, before shuffling off back to his house to feed the cat.  
  
Long and Uriko, while strolling down Adam's Street, were having an argument.  
'NO Master, you CAN'T just let HER ask you out on a date!'  
'Why not? I thought that love was meant to be a two-way thing, which therefore implies that women are just as capable of expressing their love for certain men.'  
'Yes Master, but women need MEN to ask them out, so they can pamper them.'  
'Why must men ask women out just to pamper them?'  
'Because that's how men show their love for women!'  
'But how do WOMEN show their love for MEN!?'  
'I….well, we sort off….erm…..I don't want to talk about it,' She finished lamely, hanging her head.  
'No Uriko, I insist,' Said Long firmly, 'I am your Master, and I demand to know how women express their love for men!'  
Uriko sighed; was her master really THIS naïve? Looking both ways to make sure no one was around, she beckoned for Long to bend down, and whispered in his ear. Long's face remained the same, but his features did harden a little.  
'Oh, I SEE,' He said, as realization dawned, 'But I thought that only happened after marriage?'  
'Times have changed Master. Nowadays, men can't just go around slaying animals and presenting their skinned hides to their chosen wife; now they have to buy stuff like perfume and jewelry to impress a woman, and in return they jump in the sack together every once in a while.'  
'Truly I have much to learn about the modern world,' Long said solemnly. Uriko patted him on his shoulder.  
'Hey, no problems, we'll get there eventually. Just take it one step at a time. Now, shall we try "Hey dude" again?'  
'I don't know, I'm still a little confused from last time we tried that,' Said Long nervously.  
'Relax, it's really sim--'  
She stopped, looking up suddenly.  
'Master? Can you hear that?' She said faintly.  
'Yes, I can hear something,' Said Long after a brief pause, 'It's coming from the street behind us.'  
They both turned, and looked down the long street behind them. At the far end, dimly lit by the street lights, a figure was running towards them. Uriko gasped, as she heard the strangers cry more clearly.  
'Master, it's Kenji! KENJI!' She cried, rushing off towards the running figure. Long blinked, shook his head, and headed off after her.  
  
Kevin watched as the figure pulled itself free of the sack, and stood up uncertainly, as if it wasn't sure quite what to do next. It was taller than he was, wearing what appeared to be the same dark green combat fatigues that Kouto's guards wore. He (or at least Kevin considered it to be a he) was well muscled underneath the loose fitting uniform, but one thing stuck out more than anything.  
It had no face.  
Sure, it had a head, and there were two black orbs that may have been eyes, but there was no nose, no mouth, no ears; just a head and two eyes. The flesh was a ghostly white, and looked tough and rubbery from where Kevin was standing (which was a safe distance away from the figure). It stood there for a moment, swaying slightly on the balls of its heavy combat boots, before rocking gently to a halt. Still, it remained still and silent. Feeling slightly bolder when faced with an apparently inanimate cell partner, the mongoose zoanthrope took a few steps toward him.  
'Er, hello?' He ventured. The figure remained facing straight ahead, not turning the face him.  
'I don't know what I am,' It said suddenly, n a deep, husky voice. Kevin jumped back in surprise.  
'How did you say that? You haven't got a mouth!'  
The thing turned to face him, slowly shuffling as though it had to think about every muscle movement involved.  
'I need a mouth?' It said, with a small hint of hope in its voice, 'If you know that I need a mouth, then do you know what it is I am meant to be?'  
'What? Hey man, I just said that you didn't have a mouth; to tell the truth, I don't have a God damn clue WHAT you are.'  
The figure sagged, its arms drooping.  
'I did not expect you to know,' It said sadly, 'The others, they did not speak to me. I look just like them, and in truth I AM them, but yet I am different.'  
'Different? Others like you? Wait a minute,' Said Kevin, slowly gathering his thoughts, 'Are you one of those clones that Kouto was making?'  
'A clone?' It said, confused, 'What is a clone? Am I such a being?'  
Kevin paused for a moment; was it really wise to tell him everything he knew? Granted, he didn't know a lot, but it still might make the guy edgy.  
'Er, do you have a name?'  
'A name? I don't know what one is,' Said the thing, 'Is it required of a clone to have a name?'  
'I don't know. Did anyone call you anything to identify you?'  
'They said "Get out my way scum!" a lot. Is that a name?'  
'Er, no. Definitely not a name. Hey, what's that on your arm?'  
The clone raised its arm for Kevin to see. Along the arm there was a white strip sewn into the material, which had the words "Project Oni" written on it.  
'Oni huh? That's Japanese for Ghost or something like that. Well, you sure do look like a ghost.'  
'Please, I am confused now,' Said the clone helplessly, 'You say I am a clone, yet now you refer to me as a ghost. Please, what am I?'  
'Relax man! I think for the moment we'll call you Oni, to avoid confusion.'  
'And that makes me a ghost?'  
'No, you're still a clone.'  
'But you just called me an Oni, and as you say, an Oni is a ghost.'  
Kevin sighed. This was going to take some explaining.  
  
The guard squinted into the darkness. He was one of the large number patrolling the mansion from the outside, and it was his turn to make sure the garden area was secure and the cameras were still working. He looked up onto the roof, where another soldier was looking. The guard looked down, and waved at him to proceed. With a half-hearted salute, he gripped his rifle tighter and headed off into the shadowy gardens.  
He really hated this job; there was a stretch of thirty feet that the cameras couldn't focus on properly, and that meant a guard had to go and see if there was anyone in there, lurking about. It was dangerous, risky and not at all pleasant in this cold weather. He shivered, and pulled his fatigues closer to him. He was surprised to find that the trip to the base of the security camera went by rather quickly, possibly to do with him being distracted by his thoughts, and he breathed a sigh of relief; seeing as no one had snuck out and slit his throat open, it seemed like there was no one here.  
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet slid aside, making him loose his footing and tumble down the newly opened hole with a small wail of despair. Yugo hauled himself out of the secret exit to the mansion, and peered down the hole.  
'Is everyone alright? Did that soldier land on anyone?'  
'Yeah, sssstraight on Busssuzimasssss head,' Chuckled Barry, climbing up the rusty ladder and pulling himself out onto the path.   
'That isn't funny you dick Barry,' Snarled the mad scientist and he too clambered out of the hole, clutching a rather large bruise on his forehead.  
'That's enough from the pair of you,' Snapped Beth sharply, the last to exit the hole, 'Remember what we're here for! I don't want to have to split you two up, is that clear?'  
'Yes Beth,' The pair said in unison, their heads bowed in resignation. Yugo shook his head.  
'You really have those two under the whip, don't you?' He said. Beth gave a nasty grin, and grabbed him by the ear.  
'And don't think I'm not watching you either. What I said to them goes for you too.'  
'Ow! Okay, okay, just stop pulling me ear off!' Yugo yelped, 'Are you sure you're not related to Alice in any way? You act just like her.'  
'Enough small talk. We've gotten in here, but it would be best to do this as stealthily as possible. So here's the plan….'  
  
Vincent was standing on one of the metal walkways, overlooking the exit bays. From here, the secret exits from the mansion would open up in the cities sewers, and then the clones would be released, fanning out through the underground tunnels until the command was triggered, and then……  
Vincent shuddered as he though of the carnage and destruction the clones would wreak. After the initial attack had been executed, his uncle expected heavy resistance from the cities militia, and from the Japanese Army shortly after that. An army of clones was one thing, but what he had in store to handle the rest of his enemies was diabolical.   
(What have I gotten myself into?) He thought, when suddenly he felt someone walk into him. He turned to see a rather pale scientist with a thick head of ginger hair. The man was sweating, and kept glancing through his fogged up glasses.  
'Er, are you Vincent? Mr. Kouto's nephew?'  
'That's me,' He said patiently.  
'Do you want him to win?'  
'What?'  
'Answer me quickly!' The terrified man hissed, glancing over his shoulder. Already two of the guards were looking at them, obviously thinking about heading over towards them, 'Do you want him to win?'  
'…..No,' He said. The scientist smiled weakly, and pushed something into his pocket; it was square and hard, much like a CD case.  
'This is all I can give you. It's a program that counters that of the psychic link to the clones. Use it to stop that crazy bastard Kouto! I don't expect that I'll be alive in time to see it, but promise me you'll do it?'  
'I--' Vincent began.  
'Promise me!'  
'……I promise.'  
The scientist gave a sigh of relief. He looked like he was going to say more, when one of the soldiers who had been looking at them walked forward and laid a hand on his shoulder.  
'Would you kindly come with me sir,' The guard intoned dryly. The scientist blanched visibly, and nodded weakly. As the guard led him away, the other one approached Vincent.  
'You'd best forget about what that man told you, if it was anything bad about Mr. Kouto; if he gets wind of it, and he WILL get wind of it, then it's best to be totally ignorant of anything said. Just remember that, alright kid?'  
Vincent looked into the mans eyes, and nodded.   
'Good kid. I suggest you head off somewhere else now.'  
As the guard headed off on his patrol route, Vincent's hand strayed to his pocket, and patted the CD thoughtfully.  
  
Kenji ran as fast as he could, screaming at the top of his lungs.  
'I'M COMING URIKO!' He bellowed, pounding the street as he pushed himself further and further to his limits. Way behind him, Stun jogged on, huffing and puffing as he tried to at least keep sight of the wayward ninja.  
'God damn, if he goes any faster they'll pull him over for speeding!' He said, half in awe and half in annoyance. Suddenly, he spotted something moving out of the corner of his eye. At first he thought it was just a shadow, but then he noticed the slight movements that showed it to be a figure, cleverly sticking to the shadows to avoid detection.  
'Damn! Kenji!? KENJI!?' He yelled, but he was too far behind for the young ninja to hear him, 'dumb-ass kid, always leaving himself exposed like that,' He muttered, grunting in pain as he tried to go faster than he reasonably could.  
On the other side of the street, Uriko was jumping for joy, grinning widely as Kenji got closer.  
'Look Master!' She giggled happily, 'It's Kenji! But wait a minute…..there's someone right behind him! If he thinks he can harm my Kenji--' She began, rolling back her long sleeves for a fight, but Long laid a hand on her shoulder.  
'Relax Uriko, it's just Stephen Goldberg. I daresay he helped Kenji escape from Busuzima. He's in no danger.'  
Ironically, just as he finished saying the sentence, the figure who had been keeping pace with Kenji whilst hidden in the shadows leapt out, knocking Kenji off balance. Still running at a fantastic speed, the mole zoanthrope steered haphazardly into a wall, smacking his head hard against the stone.  
'KENJI!!' Uriko screamed, as the young ninja fell to the floor, 'Master, we have to go save him!'  
'We're too far away to get to him in time, and it looks like we have some trouble of our own,' Said Long grimly. Uriko turned, and saw the green uniformed troops advancing down the street with a huge figure in the lead. There were few soldiers, but they were armed and looked well trained.  
'Trapped,' Muttered Long, 'To run now would leave Kenji helpless and in the enemies hands, and to stay would mean a battle that could cost us our lives.'  
'What do we do Master Long?' Said Uriko, taking up a well practiced fighting stance, 'I'm ready for them.'  
'Maybe it would be best to retreat a little way first; to fight out here in the open would be foolish indeed. We shall lead them off down a side alley and pick them off one at a time from there.'  
'But what about Kenji!?' Said Uriko desperately.  
'We can but hope that Stun reaches him in time. I am sorry Uriko, but there is nothing more I can do.'  
'I-I understand,' She said sadly. Long hung his head for a moment, and then stepped forward, looking towards the large figure at the head of the soldiers.  
'If it is us you are after, then you are in for a chase!' He yelled, before beckoning for Uriko to follow him down a side alley. In the midst of the soldiers, Tusk snarled angrily.  
'After them!' He bellowed to the soldiers, who set off with well drilled movements, each one covering the others as the moved in on Long's and Uriko's position. Tusk looked down the street, and thought if he should assist King in destroying the other two. He shrugged; one was already down and at his mercy, and the other look like he was no match for him. With a nasty grin, he lumbered off after his men.  
  
Kenji blinked hard, trying to shake the stars out of his vision. He hadn't seen the guy coming at him until the last moment, and considering that he had only just ran into a brick wall, he was lucky that ALL he had was a mild concussion. The figure loomed over him, and through the lights that flashed before his eyes he made out certain features; a long heavy looking trenchcoat, a large brimmed hat, and two small red points of eyes, the only thing that he could see in the shadows hiding his face.  
'Who the hell are you?' Kenji said, trying to sound demanding and authoritative, but his blow to the head had effected his speaking, which was now slow and slurred. The figure laughed.  
'My my, what a strong little morsel we have here then. Most people would have been knocked unconscious by a blow like that. Well, the LEAST I can do is answer a question from a doomed little boy.'  
The man reached up with leather gloved hands, and pulled the hat away, revealing his face.  
'My name is Jason King, boy. And that,' he said, raising a heavy booted foot, 'Is the end of you.'  
The foot came down, and to Kenji it seemed to be going as slowly as a continent moving. (This is it) He thought to himself (I'm going to die. Forgive me Uriko…..)  
Before the boot could crush his skull, someone dived out of the darkness and bore King to the ground, sending the man skidding into the gutter. Staggering to his feet, the man looked up to see Stun's fist growing larger and larger, with all the power of a carcrash put behind it. The fist knocked King's head back hard, sending the man toppling backwards once again into the gutter.  
'Can you move kid?' Said Stun over his shoulder. Kenji had already pulled himself up, and was leaning unsteadily against a lamp-post. He nodded.  
'Good. Now, you go after Long and that girlfriend of yours, and leave this guy to me.'  
'No! I can't just leave you to fight him!' Kenji protested weakly. Stun growled.  
'I said go!'  
Kenji hesitated for a moment, and then he was off, running after the soldiers who were chasing Long and Uriko. Stun turned back to see King stagger back to his feet, clutching at his jaw.  
'You'll pay for that,' He hissed, and threw back an arm, tossing his trenchcoat to one side.  
Jason King was tall and dark looking, with limp strand of ash blonde hair falling rakishly over his brow. His features, while quite beautiful, were marred by a long scar that ran down his right cheek, and his face was twisted in a permanent scowl of anger. His clothing was black and sleek, fitting his body perfectly like a glove, and it shone faintly in the street light. But by fart the worse thing was his eyes; they were red, and they glowed like some unholy fire was burning behind them.  
'I take it you're one of Mr. Kouto's hired goons then?' Said Stun, taking up a more defensive posture. King grinned madly.  
'Yeah, you could say that. I tend to do the odd job here and there, this and that,' He said, and the flesh under his left eye had begun to twitch. Stun took a step back, not dropping his guard.  
'Damn man, what's wrong with you? You insane of something?'  
'Insane!? ME!?!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!'  
'That settles it, you're a lunatic.'  
'So what if I am!? I have power!!'  
'Oh yeah? Then why are you still talking and not fighting?'  
With a screech of rage, King hurled himself at Stun, but the huge man side stepped, leaving King to skid across the floor.  
'You can't control yourself can you? You have power, but it ain't yours to command.  
'Shut up!!!' Spat King, 'I'm in control damn it!!'  
'Yeah, sure you are.'  
'I'll show you!' King snarled, and a wave of bright red energy engulfed him. When it had cleared, a new figure was standing there; it was squat and powerful looking, with thick looking body armour and little dumpy legs that looked like they could hold up a lot more weight than they already were. At the end of each long arm were a pair of pincers that snipped constantly, as if they had a mind of their own, and a huge tail curled over its head, ending in a huge fat stinger. The two red eyes remained, set on two short stalks.  
'Let me show you the power of the Red Scorpion!!!' Came the insane chattering voice, as it gripped a signpost and snipped it in half. Stun shrugged.  
'The Red Scorpion huh? I'll remember to carve that one on your tomb stone.'  
With a blast of white energy, Stun morphed into his beetle form, and crouched down for the attack.  
'You really don't know who you're up against do you!?' Yelled King, before leaping forward, pincers stretched out for the attack.  
  
Alan Gado ducked the clumsy punch the soldier threw at him, and punch him hard in the gut, and raising his knee into the mans face as he doubled up in pain. There was a satisfyingly meaty crunch as the mans nose was crushed flat, and the soldier stumbled backwards, knocking another soldier down as he fell down the steep hill. Panting for breath, Alan looked around; the soldier were in close, and that was good for the three zoanthropes. At a distant, it didn't matter what form you were in, a rifle bullet was still a rifle bullet, but thankfully they were too close in to use their weapons without risk of hitting another soldier. But there was a problem; Alan could see the large figure who he suspected was a zoanthrope at the foot of the hill, cocking the safety catch off a rifle.  
'Get down!' He yelled, before casting himself to the ground. Jane and Jenny, who were fighting back-to-back, had only a split second to dive to the ground before the huge man let loose a full round of ammo up the hill, spraying everything with a withering hail of bullets; turf, trees, plants, and the Kouto soldiers. One was hit with three bullets through the chest, and the corpse landed on Alan's leg, pinning it to the ground.  
'Damn it!' He cursed, trying to roll the body off his leg, but it was too heavy with all its equipment to shift easily. Alan's mind raced; out in the open, pinned down as he was, he was a sitting duck for the next volley. He tried to bend round an push the corpse from his leg, but it was too late; the zoanthrope with the rifle had finished reloading, and was already drawing a bead on the pinned Alan.  
'God damn it, this isn't my time!' Alan yelled, 'I'm not gonna die like this, on the ground and defenseless!'  
And that, under normal circumstances, would have been it for Alan Gado, if Jenny and Jane had not leapt at the hulking man and bore him to the ground, the gun skidding across the ground. The two women tried to pin the mans arms, but he was far too strong. With a bellow of anger, the zonathrope threw his arms up, hurling the two women to the ground.  
'You'll pay for that, little lady's,' The man snarled.  
'Yeah, sure we will,' Grunted Jenny, staggering back onto her feet. Jane was helping Alan move the body off his leg, and the pair joined her, circling around the man.  
'Three against one? I like those kinda odds,' Said Jane with a grin.  
'Oh do you really? Then lets see how you like THESE odds!'  
The man was wrapped with a dark, pulsing cloud of energy, and once it had cleared, a massive rhino stood before them, fists balled up.  
'They call me Horn,' He snarled, 'And I'm one of Mr. Kouto's best bodyguards. I suggest you give in now and take a short, clean death.'  
'You won't be so cocky once I'm through with your ass!' Jane snarled, but Alan held out an arm.  
'It's too risky. He must have some sort of plan if he's so confident to take on all three of us. One of us should hold him off while the other two contact Long and Uriko.'  
'Alan, are you sure you can handle this guy?' Said Jenny. The veteran Lion zoanthrope gave a grim smile.  
'I have no idea. We'll have to see, won't we?'  
'Father,' Jane said, but Jenny laid a hand on her shoulder.  
'Lets go Jane. He knows what to do.'  
With a last reluctant glance over her shoulder, Jane grudgingly ran off after Jenny, leaving Alan and Horn alone, surrounded by the bodies of the dead soldiers.  
'You're brave, I'll give you that,' Said Horn with a nasty grin, 'But that don't mean I ain't gonna tear out your liver and eat it raw.'  
'Well I hope you don't think I'm just going to LET you do that,' Alan replied, morphing into his beast form and taking up a combat stance. The pair were still for a moment, each one glaring at the other, and then, at the same moment, they leapt.  
  
Tusk stormed through the narrow alley, growling angrily. He and his men had chased the two targets into the network of side alleys and tiny streets, and five minutes later they were STILL looking for them. He grabbed one soldier by the neck and hoisted him up to eye level.  
'What is taking so long!?' He bellowed at the terrified man.  
'We don't know sir!' The soldier babbled quickly, 'They've just vanished!'  
With a growl, Tusk hurled the man over his shoulder, ignoring the pitiful wail as he hit a wall and slide down, his head cracked open.  
'Find them, or you'll all be like him!' He yelled at the astonished soldiers. Quickly gathering their wits, they started to comb through the streets once again.  
From under the street, peering up through a storm drain, Long and Uriko watched as the booted feet stomped past.  
'Are we safe?' Uriko whispered.  
'It would appear so, for the moment. We'll need to be careful though,' Long whispered back. Suddenly, they heard a soldier cry out, and for a brief moment they thought they had been spotted, but then they realized the shouting was coming from the other side of the street.  
'Master, what is it?' Said Uriko, who was too short to peer through the drain. Long tried the squint through the crowd of soldiers.  
'I can't tell. All I can tell is that they're fighting someone. Wait, I think I can hear someone shouting……oh dear.'  
'What Master Long? What's going on?'  
'It's Kenji. He's calling for you and drawing their attention,' Muttered Long, 'Stupid boy. Surely he could have been a bit more covert about it.'  
'Never mind that Master, we have to go rescue him!' Cried Uriko, clambering up the ladder.  
'Uriko, wait!' Hissed Long, but she was already gone, racing towards the back of the crowd. The old China man sighed, pulled off his glasses, and wiped them on the sleeve of his T-shirt.  
'Teenagers,' He sighed, and began to climb the ladder.  
  
Kenji ducked the clumsy punch that one man had leveled at him, and brought him to the floor with a leg sweep. As he came up again, he sprung up into the air, landing with both feet upon the head of another soldier. One of them had drawn a knife, and managed to slice a cut along his left arm, but he didn't notice.  
'URIKO!? URIKO!?' HE bellowed, fighting madly against the overwhelming odds. Someone had managed to get behind him, and Kenji felt a rifle butt slam against the back of his head. He stumbled forward, and got a knee to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He crumpled, dropping to the floor as the soldiers moved in, kicking him prone body. Suddenly, one of the soldiers at the back of the mob felt the full fury of Uriko, sent flying through the air from a savage kick. One man turned around, and got a flurry of punches to the face for his troubles. The soldiers were now confused; half of them were still trying to beat Kenji to a bloody pulp, while the other half were attempting to get out of the way of the fuming Uriko.  
'I'm gonna say this only once,' She snarled, as she broke a mans outstretched arm neatly along the bone, 'GET AWAY FROM MY MOLE-BOY!'  
Kenji blinked hard, trying to shake the sluggish feeling off. Groggily, he lifted his head, and saw his girlfriend beating seven shades of brown out of a floored soldier.  
'Lets see how you like it then, eh?!' She was shouting, and then she noticed that Kenji was conscious again.  
'KENJI!' She yelled happily, running over to him and leaving the soldier groaning on the floor. She knelt down, and cradled his head on her lap. Kenji smiled weakly.  
'Hey, I thought it was me who was meant to save you,' He croaked, his throat dry and swollen.  
'That's very old fashioned of you,' Chided Uirko, grinning with him as she wiped the sweat off his brow with her sleeve, 'Women are just as capable of saving men.'  
Kenji blinked, and opened his mouth to shout a warning, but it was too late; Uriko saw the shadow fall over her just before she felt the ham-like fist grip her neck, lifting her easily into the air. Tusk grinned, and grabbed Kenji in his other free hand.  
'Well well well, what do we have here? Two lovebirds I see. Tell me, little girl,' He snarled, shaking Uriko in his fist, 'Will you like your boyfriend so much once I tear his head off his shoulders?'  
'GGGGAAAHHHH!' Was the strangled response, and she kicked out wildly. Tusk chuckled.  
'Temper temper,' He said.  
'I suggest you put the girl and the boy down, before I really get angry,' A voice rang out, as clear as a bell. Tusk looked up, and saw Long, standing patiently in a Kenpo stance.  
'Yeah? What ya going to do about it, pretty boy?' Sneered Tusk.  
'I see you will not take the easy path I have offered,' Said Long solemnly, 'Which only leave the hard path. Be warned, two people may go down the hard path, but only ONE ever leaves it.'  
'So you're looking for a fight,' The huge thug said, grinning evilly. With a shrug, he tossed the two teenagers over his shoulder, letting them land heavily on the pavement behind, 'I'm up for it. I can finish them two once I'm done kicking your brains out your skull.'  
'Master…' Said Uriko weakly, but Long held up a hand.  
'Uriko, I have a request for you; take Kenji and go to the meeting point. Hopefully Alan and the other should have arrived by now. I shall hold off this fool until then.'  
Uriko was silent for a moment, and she looked as if she was going to argue, but Kenji laid a hand on her shoulder.  
'It's alright,' He said softly, 'He knows what he's doing. Lets go.'  
'Be careful Master,' Said Uriko, before heading off down a side alley. Long returned his attention to Tusk, who had now changed into his elephant form.  
'What you waiting for pretty boy?' He chuckled, beckoning with a thick finger. Long remained silent, and changed into his Tiger form.  
'I hate to do this, but I belief Uriko would find it appropriate,' Said Long, 'Ehem…..You're going down!!!'  
  
And there it is, another chapter. Kenji and Uriko HAVE been reunited, although there hasn't been much time for lovey-dovey stuff. Rest assured, they WILL find the time, later (I'm sure all you Keniko fans will be pleased to hear that). Well, not a lot more I can say, except tune in for the next chapter, where the battles shall be decided, and the Secrets of Project Oni are revealed  



End file.
